NBA Betting Preview – Sacramento Kings vs. Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks will continue a lengthy home stand tonight against the Kings, but their death grip at Philips Arena is slipping. While they served up the reeling Wizards on a platter, the Hawks barely got by Phoenix and then lost a tight decision to Oklahoma City on Monday. The Kings are just 1-9 SU in their last 10 games, most of which have been on the road, but a 34-point outburst from Tyreke Evans has the Hawks’ betting faithful quivering in their boots.

Evans is the lone front runner for Rookie of the Year thus far, and it’s hard to convince me otherwise. The 6-foot-6 point-guard from Memphis was taken fourth overall and has proven his worth already by averaging 20-5-5 in 36 games this season. The defensive matchup against the slower Bibby and the athletic Jamal Crawford won’t do much to slow him down.

While I’m on the subject, the hero in Atlanta recently has been Jamal Crawford, whose ridiculously sudden nickname of “The Difference” deserves no mention until he gets them to the playoffs. It certainly doesn’t help matters that Crawford went a paltry 0-for-6 in the fourth quarter against the Thunder. While Crawford has been a delightful surprise in Atlanta this season, the Hawks have become all too reliant on his ability to clinch late games. The Hawks are now 5-2 SU in their last 7 games, 15-7 ATS in their last 22 games at home but have lost the past two games to the oddsmakers.

Sacramento Kings (15-25) vs. Atlanta Hawks (26-14) >> Join Now to Bet!
Wednesday, January 20th — Philips Arena, Atlanta — 7:00pm EST
NBA Betting Line: Atlanta -10 (205)

The young kings have been riding the backs of rookies all season. Jason Thompson, a 6-foot-11 power-forward from Rider College, has been hauling in 8.9 boards and averaging 13.9 points per game. Yet he’s been slowed down in the past five games because Spencer Hawes, their 7-foot-1 center, hasn’t been carrying his load properly. With an average of 11.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, Spencer has been virtually eliminated by opposing centers causing teams to crash in on Thompson. Think that’ll happen with Josh Smith and Al Horford in Atlanta? Absolutely.

The main problem in this matchup is that the Kings’ backcourt is as deep and productive as any in the league. With Kevin Martin returning from injury and averaging 25.5 points per game, Beno Udrih and Omri Casspi coming off the bench to chip in a combined 25.9 points and the electric Evans lighting up the board, the Hawks can easily be caught up with by utilizing effective perimeter scoring.

The NBA betting trends lean far and away from the Kings, however. Sacramento is just 1-6-1 ATS in their last 8 games and are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games in Atlanta. That basketball betting line hovering over this matchup is massive though, and I fully expect Evans, Martin and their backcourt counterparts to give the Hawks a run for their money.

Atlanta is growing a bit too comfortable at home for my liking and the oddsmakers are leveraging massive spreads against them. With a tight win over Phoenix and a gloomy loss to the Thunder in their own building, I’d say the Hawks are about to enter their second stretch of stink this season courtesy of the Kings. At the very least, you have to be happy about the amount of points the Kings are getting and a moderately low TOTAL for two teams that will be chasing each other on the scoreboard all night.

Furious Free Pick: Sacramento +10 (OVER)