Atlanta Hawks
Trae Young, who was the Atlanta Hawks' revelation last year, has started this season as powerfully as he finished last season. After leading the Hawks in the first 2 games and scoring 38 and 39 points respectively, Young fell off a bit in Game 3. In a 103-105 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Young scored 25 points, but his offensive performance was pretty poor, hitting only 7 of 20 shots, but adding 9 assists. John Collins, another young talent on the Hawks, contributed 16 points and 8 rebounds against the 76ers. Rookie DeAndre Hunter also had a good game, falling just one rebound short of a double-double. He finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds.
The Hawks, who had shot over 50% from the field in their first two games, had just 43% in their loss to the 76ers. Although the team had 23 assists and 12 steals, the poor shooting did not lead to a win.
Miami Heat
The Heat, who added Jimmy Butler and Meyers Leonard in the off-season, remain one of the black horses of the Eastern Conference, as the roster is really competitive and could surprise, provided all key players avoid injuries. However, it is the early season injuries that are keeping the Heat from playing to their full potential - James Johnson is still out, Dion Waiters has been suspended by the club, Kelly Olynyk and Udonis Haslem are still questionable to play in this game.
The Heat will also be entering this game coming off a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in an away game. The brightest spot in that game was Kendrick Nunn, a rookie who wasn't even drafted in the rookie draft. He scored 25 points on 50% shooting from the field. Justice Winslow added 20 points and Duncan Robinson, coming off the bench, also added 21 points, but it wasn't enough to get the win. The Heat attacked with 49%, but made 21 errors, resulting in a 109-116 loss to the Timberwolves.
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Betting trends
- The Hawks have covered the spread in all 3 games played;
- The Hawks have covered the Heat in 6 of the 7 games played;
- All 3 Hawks games this season have ended in underdogs;
- The Heat have covered the man advantage all 3 times this season;
- All 3 games played by the Heat ended in overtime.
History between teams
As both teams are in the playoffs this season, every win in the playoffs is golden. In the last 5 meetings, the Hawks have won 3 times and the Miami Heat 2 times. The last 2 meetings were won by the Heat.
Injured players
Allen Crabbe and Chandler Parsons will not play tonight;
James Johnson, Derrick Jones Jr., Dion Waiters and James Johnson will not play tonight for the Miami Heat. Udonis Haslem and Kelly Olynyk are not yet confirmed to play in this game.
Forecast
Both the Hawks and the Heat started the season covering the lines set by the bookmakers, but tonight one of the teams will break the streak. While both teams have a lot of potential on offense, the Hawks have looked much better on defense so far, and currently rank 6th in the league in fewest points allowed, averaging 101 points per game. The Heat are currently ranked 8th in the league in three-pointers made, while the Hawks are ranked 3rd in the league in fewest missed three-pointers made. It will be very interesting to see which team's tendencies will prove to be more successful in this game.
However, with Jimmy Butler making his Heat debut tonight and his form and chemistry with the rookies not clear, it would not be surprising if Miami's offense is not as strong as in the previous games, especially since the opponent will be one of the team's best defenders in the early season.
Trae Young is looking impressive at the start of the season and the team has enough good helpers to keep the Hawks in the fight until the end of the game and not lose by more than 8 points.
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