Cavaliers +2.5 over Hawks
The Hawks rebounded from their first-half slump by clinching a spot in the play-in tournament and defeating the up-and-coming Hornets by a score of 132-103. Atlanta exploded in the 3rd quarter, notching 42 points to put Charlotte away before the 4th quarter began. Though he struggled with efficiency going 8-for-24 from the field, Trae Young led the team with 24 points while De’Andre Hunter racked up 22 of his own to give Atlanta the win.
On Tuesday, the Cavaliers came close but failed to upset the Nets in Brooklyn. They made a strong comeback in the second half, but after being outscored 40-20 in the 1st quarter, they dug themselves into too deep a hole. If Cleveland wants to make it into the playoffs for the first time since LeBron James left the team, they need to defeat the Hawks. Luckily, the game will be played in Cleveland, giving the Cavs home-court advantage.
After reaching the Eastern Conference Finals last season, the Hawks have the upper hand in their experience. However, this Cavaliers squad is efficient on both offense and defense, unlike the Hornets, who allow opponents to put up points against them at will. Though Cleveland’s starters are young and inexperienced in the postseason, the Cavs have veterans Kevin Love and Rajon Rondo who can make a difference off the bench. If Darius Garland and Evan Mobley put up similar numbers against the Hawks as they did against the Nets, Cleveland will be able to keep up on offense. The outlier is Young. If Young struggles from the field early, he tends to continue to throw up bricks which can lead to the Hawks’ downfall. I’ll go with the home team on this one. Take the points and the upset.
Pelicans +4 over Clippers
When Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum are at their best, they are among the most forceful tandems in the league. In their win against the Spurs, the two combined for 55 of the team’s 113 points. Since the Pelicans acquired McCollum at the trade deadline, the former Trailblazer has shined in New Orleans. He is perhaps the key reason why the Pelicans moved from being a lottery team to winning the first game of the play-in tournament. If the Pelicans wish to advance to the first round of the playoffs, both Ingram and McCollum must play to the level they did in Wednesday’s game.
The Clippers wasted a 34-point performance from Paul George on Tuesday night against the T-Wolves as LA fell to Minnesota 109-105 in the first round of the play-in tournament. It’s been a disappointing year for the Clippers as they have dealt with many injuries. Most notably, they have been without star Kawhi Leonard, who has been out since last year’s playoffs. They will need a repeat performance from George at a minimum and big games from Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris to win.
I’ll take the motivated Pelicans to cover the spread and win in an upset in this matchup. McCollum and Ingram work well together, and New Orleans has more depth in their bench than the injury-ridden Clippers. The Pelicans have been hot as of late, and that will continue on Friday.
