Atlanta Hawks (34-20 SU 33-21 ATS) at Utah Jazz (36-19 SU 33-18-3 ATS) EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT 9 PM EST Monday February 22. 2010 on NBA TV
by Jason Green at Predictem.com
Point Spread: Hawks +5.5 / Jazz -5.5
Over/Under: 197
The Utah Jazz have been en fuego since before the All Star break, as they have won 4 in a row, are 9-1 in their last 10 games, and have won 17 of their last 19 games. The Jazz are right on the heels of Denver, as they trail the Nuggets by only game in the Northwest Division and they are currently in 3rd place in the Western Division.
The Atlanta Hawks have not played the best basketball lately, as they have lost 2 in a row and are only 5-5 in their last 10 games. They now trail the Orlando Magic by 2.5 games in the Southeast Division and they were recently surpassed by the Boston Celtics for 3rd place in the Eastern Conference.
This season the Jazz are 22-7 at home and the Hawks are 13-14 on the road.
The Hawks have lost 15 straight in Utah and they have not won there since Bill Clinton was in the first year of his presidency way back in 1993.
The Hawks are simply not a good team on the road, as they are not only under .500 away from Atlanta this season, but they have dropped 8 of their last 12 road games including their last 2.
The Hawks can score, but they are not a great team on the boards and they really need to worry about Carlos Boozer, who grabbed a career high 23 boards in yesterday’s game.
The Hawks lost to the Golden State Warriors 108-104 yesterday and were outscored 35-14 in the 4th quarter. The high scorer for the Hawks in the game was Joe Johnson going for 31 points on 12/22 shooting, For the game the Hawks shot 40/88 from the field for a FG% of 45.5%. The Hawks forgot to play defense yesterday, as they allowed the Warriors to shoot 45/84 from the field for a FG% of 53.5%.
In their last game the Jazz beat the Portland Trailblazers 94-89 in OT yesterday. The high scorer for Utah in the game was Carlos Boozer going for 22 points on 9/19 shooting. For the game the Jazz did not shoot well going 33/83 for a FG% of 39.8%. Luckily the Jazz played solid defense in the game holding the Blazers to 31/88 for a paltry FG of 35.2%.
This season the Jazz rank 7th in scoring (102.1 ppg) and the Hawks rank 11th (101.3 ppg). On defense both teams are deal even ranking 10th in points allowed each allowing an average of 97 ppg. The Jazz have been a better team on the boards this season, as they have a rebounding differential of +1.7 rpg while the Hawks are in the negative at -0.9 rpg.
According to the Sagarin NBA ratings the Jazz rank 4th (94.71) and the Hawks rank 7th (93.95).
Atlanta is 2-5 ATS in their last 7 road games, 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games as an underdog, and 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games as a road underdog of 5.0-10.5.
Atlanta has an Under record of 3-1-1 in their last 5 road games, an Under record of 4-0 in their last 4 games against teams with a winning record, and an Over record of 7-1 following a loss.
Utah is 15-5-2 ATS in their last 22 home games, 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games against teams with a losing road record, and 7-2-2 ATS in their last 11 games as a home favorite.
Utah has an Under record of 5-0 in their last 5 games, an Under record of 4-0 in their last 4 games as a favorite, and has an Over record of 6-2 in their last 8 games as a favorite of 5.0-10.5.
The total has gone Under the last 6 games between these 2 teams in Utah and the Hawks are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games in Utah.
On the injury front SF Andrei Kirilenko and C Mehmet Okur are both day-to-day for Utah while Atlanta is not reporting any significant injuries.
Jason’s Pick Against the Spread: It is simple, as the Jazz are playing great and are tough to beat at home while the Hawks are struggling and are not a good road team. The Jazz should have no problem winning this game, as the big factor will be them winning the battle of the boards. Utah will win this game and cover the spread, as the Hawks woes in Utah will continue.