Atlanta at Portland in Late TNT Game

The Atlanta Hawks visit the Portland Trailblazers in the late TNT game on Monday in the final game of a busy Monday night in the NBA. Portland is favored by 2 and the total on the game is 217.

The Hawks are one of the few teams in the NBA that has played just as well on the road as they have at home. Atlanta is 15-12 away from home straight up and 31-23 overall, so there isn’t much difference in the team’s win-loss record. The one thing Atlanta does is play things a bit closer to the vest on the road. The Hawks average 101.7 points on the road and allow 103.1, which are less than their home averages.

The Trailblazers are 14-12 at home and score 109 points and allow 107.9. Like most teams, Portland scores a little more at home and allows slightly fewer points in front of the home fans.

The key to this game will be Atlanta not getting caught up in Portland’s style and playing their own game. So far Atlanta has been able to do that and have a 17-12 straight-up record against losing teams. Atlanta is 12-17 in totals in these games.

Portland is just 6-18 straight up against teams with winning records, but they are 14-10 against the spread. This time they’re not underdogs and have to win straight-up, making them a bit risky. The Trailblazers will try to push the pace and they are 14-10 in totals against winning teams this season.

Bettors tend to have short memories and that appears to be evident in this game. Portland was just featured on TNT a few games ago in a 120-111 loss to the Boston Celtics. As a result, the total is several points higher than it should be given Atlanta’s preference of style. As a result, the best value in this game is taking under 217.