Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers Game 2

NBA Playoff Preview

Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers (Cavaliers lead 1-0)
Thursday, 8:05 pm Eastern – ESPN

 

SBG Global Opening Line: Cavaliers  -  12 ,  Total  177

 

The Cleveland Cavaliers will try and take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday.  The Cavaliers are heavily favored to win Game 2 considering they have only lost two games at home all season.  Cleveland has been rolling throughout the playoffs so far, winning all five of their games by double-digits.

 

SBG Global reports that early NBA betting has the public taking Cavaliers  at Home.

 

Cleveland is giving up only 76.8 points per game in the playoffs which is even better than they did in the regular season when they led the entire league in defense.   The Hawks actually scored 44 points in the first half of Game 1 before Cleveland’ coaching staff made a statement about the poor defense and the Cavaliers slammed the door on the Hawks in the second half. “The coaches got on us,” Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said. “They were shooting 56 percent from the field or so, getting some dunks. We came out flat or lackadaisical. The second half was different, we got some stops and they only got one offensive rebound.” Cleveland played great defense in the second half, got another superb game out of league MVP LeBron James who scored 34 points and rolled to a 99-72 win. It could be more of the same on Thursday.

 

Here are the NBA betting stats for Thursday’s game. The Hawks are 12-3 ATS in their last 15 vs. the Central. The Hawks are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 playoff games as an underdog.

 

The Cavaliers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 Conference Semifinals games. The Cavaliers are 36-15 ATS in their last 51 games as a home favorite. The home team is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings between the two teams and the favorite is 17-8 ATS in the last 25 meetings.

 

SBG Global Current Line: Cavaliers  -  12.5 ,  Total  179

 

The Under is 5-0 in the Hawks last 5 games as a road underdog. The Under is 5-1 in the Hawks last 6 overall. The Under is 5-1 in the Hawks last 6 vs. the Eastern Conference. The Over is 13-5-1 in the Hawks last 19 vs. the Central.

 

The Under is 4-0 in the Cavaliers last 4 playoff games as a favorite. The Under is 15-4 in the Cavaliers last 19 Conference Semifinals games. The Under is 41-20-1 in the Cavaliers last 62 games as a home favorite.