Blazers Host Sinking Hawks
Damian Lillard (illness) missed practice Tuesday and could miss Wednesday’s game with the Hawks.
The Portland Trail Blazers host the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday in an interconference matchup between two sides with postseason aspirations.
Tip-off at Moda Center is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET.
Both teams may have playoff aspirations, but they’re currently facing very different paths to postseason play. The Blazers will look to use Wednesday’s game to springboard back into the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference, while the Hawks are simply looking to retain the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed, by hook or by crook.
Portland (41-19, 23-8 home) suffered an unexpected defeat this past Monday, losing 107-106 at home to the Western Conference-worst Los Angeles Lakers. The defeat put an end to both the Blazers’ five-game winning streak and four-game home winning streak.
Now Terry Stotts will look to roundup his men and set the team back on winning ways. A win over the Hawks could see the Blazers move back into third place, depending on how the Houston Rockets fare against the Orlando Magic. It would also move the side to within four games of the Northwest Division-leading Oklahoma City Thunder, a gap that might seem a little too narrow for Scott Brooks’ side.
But despite its impressive record on the season, Portland hasn’t been assured of wins of late. The Blazers are just 8-8 since January 20, and will need to pick up their form as teams around them – notably the Rockets – pick up their own form. A win over the Hawks would be as good a place to start as any.
Atlanta (26-32, 9-21 road) is less likely to be worrying about form right not. Losers of 11 of the last 12, the Hawks are simply looking for wins by any means possible.
After looking like a lock for a top four finish in the Eastern Conference over the first two months of the season, Mike Budenholzer’s side has gone into free-fall.
Since January 1, the Hawks have posted an 8-18 record overall and a 3-11 record away from Phillips Arena. This poor run of form has seen the side plummet down the standings.
Heading into Wednesday’s game, the Hawks still own a three-game advantage over the Detroit Pistons in ninth place, but you have to believe a purple patch for the Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks or Boston Celtics could see Atlanta’s playoff hopes shattered. Of course, none of the above is playing particularly good basketball, but it only takes a few wins.
Injury has played a huge part in Atlanta’s decline. With Al Horford (pectoral) out for the year, the team has relied on Paul Millsap to carry the load. Millsap has missed the last four games with a knee injury. On top of that, the Hawks have also been without Pero Antic (ankle) and have now learned they’ll be without Gustavo Ayon for the rest of the season. Talk about your decimated front courts.
Wednesday’s contest marks the third game in a six-game road trip for the Hawks that has started 0-2 and still features trips to the Golden State Warriors (Friday) and Los Angeles Clippers (Saturday).
The Hawks may get a small break on Wednesday though. Blazers point guard Damian Lillard missed practice on Tuesday with a stomach ailment and could miss the game. Still, with the Portland front line of LaMarcus Aldridge, Robin Lopez, and Nicolas Batum going up against Atlanta’s makeshift lineup, that will likely be small consolation for a team treading further into deep water.
Atlanta Hawks vs. Portland Trail Blazers odds for 03/05/2014
Barring some kind of catastrophic event, Portland will enter the game as the favorite over a slumping Atlanta.
The all-time head-to-head series between the sides currently sits tied at 51-51. The Blazers own a 33-18 advantage on their home floor though.
A season ago, the two sides split the two-game head-to-head, each winning on the other’s home court. Atlanta has taken seven of the last 10 meetings but if you cast your net back a little further, you’ll find the Blazers have gone 15-8 in the last 23. Portland has also taken 10 of the last 14 games the two have played at Moda Center/Rose Garden.
At time of publication, the spread had yet to be revealed, but there’s plenty to keep in mind when it finally surfaces.
Portland (32-28-0 ATS) has had trouble against the spread in recent weeks, posting a 2-7-0 ATS record over the last nine. The Blazers are also 2-7-0 ATS in their last nine home games against Atlanta.
But Atlanta (27-30-1 ATS) has had little success against the spread either. The Hawks are 1-10-1 ATS in their last 12 games, and 0-4-1 ATS in their last five on the road. That doesn’t look good heading into Wednesday’s game.
The over/under line had not been released at time of publication. However, the over could look good, providing Vegas doesn’t throw the 220-point mark out there.
Both Portland (34-25-1) and Atlanta (36-21-1) have favored the over this season and 10 of Atlanta’s last 12 road games have seen the total go over.
That being said, historically this matchup tends to favor the under, with the last five head-to-head meetings failing to top the total, and four of the last five head-to-head meetings in Portland doing the same.
Portland will visit Atlanta on Thursday, March 27, to close out the head-to-head regular season meeting between the sides.
Leading scorer Paul Millsap has missed the last four games for Atlanta.
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