Game 15: Atlanta Hawks (3-11) @ Denver Nuggets (9-5) - 9:00 PM ET

[ducler]

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[skywalker33]

Hopefully a confidence (re- ?)building win tonight.

[NuggetsWY]

Odds? Final score? Over/under? Anyone ready to put money on this game?
Taken position by position - I'd prefer Denver's start-5 across the board.
Looking at depth, I'll take Denver's top-5 bench across the board.
But nope, no prediction here. The Nuggets have to learn how to win and they haven't proven that - lately they have not done well at all.

[Popovich]

Odds? Final score? Over/under? Anyone ready to put money on this game?
Taken position by position - I'd prefer Denver's start-5 across the board.
Looking at depth, I'll take Denver's top-5 bench across the board.
But nope, no prediction here. The Nuggets have to learn how to win and they haven't proven that - lately they have not done well at all.

This will be hot game betting wise. Let me dig deeper into the stats before suggesting a pick. Although this is not a betting advising forum I will make some predictions little bit later. You can feel in the air that this game is sort of "must win" for Denver. They don't need just a win, they need a good game generally to put themselves back on track, otherwise if they lose...well questions will be raised and person to blame for will be searched. Odds should be higher on Denver win but they aren't because of a "must win" factor. I watched Haws vs GSW and I can tell you that they are better than we can see on paper. I see that you are uncertain and that you lack trust in your team. You are right to think so because as you said "The Nuggets have to learn how to win and they haven't proven that" OTOH if you really want to place a bet this is not a bad situation. Big motivation and need for a victory along with the home court support is there but you need to trust your team. Do not blame me afterwards if you do bet and lose but if you think Nuggets are better and you are a fan then you should support them and trust them. There are better ways to show your trust to a favorite team , putting money on them is just one of them. Denver is in slump and Hawks aren't bad as everyone think they are so a true fan should not hesitate much in trusting his team in these times of crisis. I hope my post will boost your confidence. Later I can show you my betting coupon if you are interested. Gambling is not for fun that is why I can't suggest you anything serious. I bet only on minimal scale, you know, just to make sport events even more interesting.

[skywalker33]

Odds? Final score? Over/under? Anyone ready to put money on this game?
Taken position by position - I'd prefer Denver's start-5 across the board.
Looking at depth, I'll take Denver's top-5 bench across the board.
But nope, no prediction here. The Nuggets have to learn how to win and they haven't proven that - lately they have not done well at all.

What kinda odd can I get on my $10 allowance ??

[jayu70]

Taurean Prince is out with a sore achilles and Alex Len is questionable with injured ankle.

[skywalker33]

Taurean Prince is out with a sore achilles and Alex Len is questionable with injured ankle.

Just what the DR ordered, us for an easier opponent, you for an easier tank.

[jayu70]

Taurean Prince is out with a sore achilles and Alex Len is questionable with injured ankle.

Just what the DR ordered, us for an easier opponent, you for an easier tank.

And I'm ok with that! .

[Popovich]

Here are my predictions.

Lets look at the stats first.
Atlanta won in their last meeting 01/10/18 DEN 97 - ATL 110.
Head to Head Hawks are 6-0 ATS in the last 6 meetings.
Hawks are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Denver which shows that Atlanta is good against the spread vs Denver. I don't think Denver will blow out them although they could and they need exactly such a win.

The Hawks haven’t been able to buy a win lately but they were surprisingly competitive against the Warriors in their last outing despite a quiet game from Young. The Nuggets won their first six home games of the season but have since lost three in a row so a win here would do a lot to steady the ship. The Hawks should hang around for half the game, but the Nuggets really need a win to snap out of their funk and I think they get that tonight in important game at home.
The Atlanta Hawks have lost nine of their last 10 games and they will be hoping to avoid a sixth straight loss after falling to the Warriors in a 110-103 road defeat on Tuesday. Taurean Prince led the team in scoring with 22 points and four assists, Kent Bazemore added 18 points while Alex Len chipped in with 14 points. As a team, the Hawks shot 44 percent from the field and 12 of 32 from the three-point line but they needed much more from their rookie Trae Young who finished with just four points and nine assists on two of 12 shooting. With the loss, Atlanta dropped to 3-11 overall and 1-7 on the road.

Now we hear that Taurean Prince is out so that does not help Atlanta. However Nikola Jokic is questionable for Denver.
Jokic has a right hand injury and it is unclear if he will suit up against the Hawks on Thursday

Meanwhile the Nuggets are 1-4 ATS in their last five games against a team with a losing record, 0-4 ATS in their last four games following a loss and 0-4 ATS in their last four games overall.

As you can see it's a tough to make call here. I do think Denver will win and with Taurean Prince out it could be over the spread.
However I do not think that is the safest bet. Jokic is uncertain and if he plays and his hand is injured well..it's logical that he will have problems to shoot, anyhow he was cold/hot lately. Because of unusually higher than normal, in this time of the season, importance of the game and some important players absence I will suggest following bets:

UNDER 222.5 points ; Odd@1.85 ; STAKE 7/10
Nikola Jokic under 18 points ; Odd@1.72 ; STAKE 6/10
Denver wins ; Odd@1.10 ; STAKE 5/10
Atlanta +12.5 Odd@1.85 ; STAKE 1/10

P.S.
Important note: Gambling is dangerous and addictive. I express what I think the outcome will be, I do not suggest anyone to gamble . If someone decides to place bets he should know that he is ought to place bets on his own risk. Don't blame me for possible, eventual loss. Thank you

[THE J0KER]

Of course, we are going to win this, but I hope it will not be followed with ours "A WIN IS A WIN" comments.

The adequate response of TOP10 team after 4 straight losses should be blowout win on home court against a probably league-worst team at the moment. But you never know with this Denver team.

[Popovich]

Should have went with my original thoughts before diving into stats but at the end important victory , a blowout , exactly what Nuggets needed.

[skywalker33]

Well, we did EXACTLY what we were supposed to do, start fast and beat them down. Not a lot of fight in the Hawks but we stomped on their throats.

[NuggetsWY]

Just for The Joker - Hey, a win is a win and we won.

Now, to get serious - after the first quarter, I spent my time trying to review talent and I'm just going to comment on two deep-bench players.

Lydon doesn't see a lot of minutes and didn't put up much of a stat line, but I liked his movement and his 3pt shooting seems effortless from what my wife terms Curry-range. Movement is probably the most important trait for any Nugget IMO - on offense & defense.

Akoon-Purcell also looked fairly nice. He hustled and seemed to have decent handles.

[Maf]

That white boy from Atlanta was sooo cute! Reminded the old days on the basketball court when some friend brought his young brother cause he had to take care of him that afternoon and asked if he can play with us. Was kinda wierd that Nuggets did the same but kept playing five on five against him. The little boy never counted as player...