An emerging trend to watch for with the Golden State Warriors this season is their ability to cover big spreads despite the trouble they’re having covering small spreads. With last night’s loss to the Clippers, the Warriors are now 2-11 ATS in their last 13 games as a 1- to 7-point favorite. The good news for Warriors bettors tonight is they are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games as a double-digit favorite, and that’s where they open tonight against the visiting Hawks at -13.5.
- Golden State is 6-1 ATS in its last seven games as a double-digit favorite.
- The Hawks are 0-7 SU in their last seven games vs the Warriors (avg. losing margin: 9.0).
- The total has gone OVER in seven of the Warriors’ last 10 games (avg. combined score: 238.4).
Steph Curry Will Miss His Third Straight Game
The NBA’s leading scorer and Golden State’s MVP will miss his third game in a row after suffering a groin injury against the Milwaukee Bucks last week. The Warriors went on to lose that game and are 1-1 in the two games since the injury.
Despite Curry’s absence, there’s no real fear in Oakland that the Hawks will be able to steal a win from the defending champs tonight. Atlanta is one of the worst teams in the league and comes to the Bay Area having lost eight of its last nine games by an average of 14.5 points.
No. 2 Scoring Offense vs No. 29 Scoring Defense
This game has the potential to get out of hand early, and Golden State spread bettors will be all for it. The Warriors have the No. 2 scoring offense in the Association at 121.5 points per game while the Hawks are averaging 118.31 points against.
Even without Curry, the Warriors have plenty of guys who can put points on the board. Kevin Durant is fifth in league scoring at 27.4 points per game while Klay Thompson is the third member of the team in the top 20 of league scoring at 21.7 points per game.
In relief of Curry, Quinn Cook has averaged 17 points per game as a starter in 21 minutes per game.
My Pick For Tonight
I’m taking Golden State on the spread for this game. With Curry absent, I think oddsmakers have adjusted the line down a little from where it should be, and we’re seeing plenty of early action on the Warriors.
Despite the Warriors being a pretty good OVER bet, I’m avoiding the totals play in this game because at 230.5 we would be relying a lot on Atlanta’s offense to produce over 100 points against the defending champs in this game. That might not be feasible for a team that’s averaging 109.3 points in the East.
