NBA Picks Friday 4/1/2016 – CLE vs. ATL

Pick #1 – Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks​

As two Eastern conference juggarnauts take the court tonight we have to think this might be a bit of a throw away game as each team does not need to worry about playoff positioning really at this time as each team has pretty much clinched there final playoff position. The Hawks are playing some fantastic basketball at the moment going 8-2 over there last 10 games where as the Cavs might have some tweaking to do down the stretch sporting a past 10 game record of 6-4 which may be attributable to resting player and injuries more then anthying. The Atlanta Hawks (45-31) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (53-22) really do not have much to play for tonight so we have to expect a less then competitive game taking place. While there are really no injuries of note for this contest as only the Atlanta Hawks report Tiago Splitter out for tonight but we have to think this might be a great spot for both teams to rest players or take it a bit easy. Regardless of what competitive direction the contest takes however we have to be happy about the recent trends and stats we are seeing. The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland's last 5 games. The total has also gone UNDER in 7 of Atlanta's last 9 games at home so simply put these two teams are playing some slower restful basketball lately. In addition to all of this Cleveland is an overall 16-21 over/under for the season on the road and the Hawks are 17-20 at home so the numbers are starting to really pile up on the under side.. Offensive and defensive combined outcomes for the last 10 games for these two teams add up to 212.3 and 199.4 so if we get anywhere near the defensive and lazy offensive end of this game we will be golden. The total over/under spread for this NBA contest opened at 206.5 and is dropping as we type this so its a great sign that the money is pouring in on our Under side. The Hwaks only need to win by -2.5 points here so this shoud be a close low scoring contest where defense and recents trends ultimately prevail.. The consensus for this game puts the UNDER 56% likeliehood so we are getting positive low scoring extrapolations for this match. The last time these two teams face off the final results was a 109-97 Cleveland home win so hit exactly at where the point total is tonight and as we are getting slower playing teams that now need to rest we have to really think this makes the under easy. The UNDER seems to be taking precedent as of late and we will happily take the UNDER 206 here and grab yet another winning ticket.

Game Time:
Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks - Friday, April 01, 2016 8:05 PM

Spread:
507 Cleveland Cavaliers +2½
508 Atlanta Hawks -2½

Total:
507 Cleveland Cavaliers Over 206
508 Atlanta Hawks Under 206

Betting odds provided by 5Dimes

The Pick:
Under 206 (2 Units)

As always bet within your means and bankroll. Enjoy the games and be responsible when betting!

Picks By TexasMatt