NBA Betting Preview: Day 22

Day 21 of the Betting Preview got off to a shaky start before coming home strong. The New York Knicks let us down in a double overtime thriller against Chicago, the Warriors switched on in the third quarter to blow out Memphis and the Clippers closed out strongly against Minnesota to make it a 2-1 day, 8-1 in the last 3 days overall.

On today's Betting Preview, there's a four-game slate to choose from. Seeing no value in two games, we're only going with two games today. We'll be looking at Atlanta's trip to Charlotte, and Washington's trip to Dallas. Let's get into it. 

Please note: these are Expert Predictions, not predictions by our NBA Model. For those, you can visit our NBA Hub.

Atlanta @ Charlotte

The youth and exuberance of the Atlanta Hawks, led by Trae Young, travels to Charlotte to take on a Hornets team with the best Offensive Rating in the NBA of all teams at home.

Atlanta will be feeling good after a good win against the Miami Heat last time out, when Young dropped 24 points and 15 assists. The Hornets, meanwhile, had a resounding 31 point win over the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers and are in good form.

Key Stats and Trends: we're going against the trends today, as I think that the 11.5 point line is far too generous even if Charlotte is the home favourite. The Stats Insider model has a 2% edge on the Hawks, and in such a sharp sport any edge should be taken advantage of.

Take the points with the Hawks, and hope that the Hornets have come back down to Earth after a hot shooting display last time out.

Key Play: Atlanta +11.5

Washington @ Dallas

The turmoil-filled Washington Wizards hit the road to take on the Dallas Mavericks, who are engaged in struggles of their own. Both teams are 2-7 and badly need a win, making this game one that will be a desperate scrap.

Washington have been abysmal on the road, whilst the Mavericks have shown more resolve in recent displays against the LA Lakers and San Antonio, but they were defeats nevertheless.

Key Stats and Trends: Washington are 2-7 on the season and 2-7 ATS, including 1-4 ATS on the road. Their Offensive Rating is 102.8 points per 100 possessions on the road, ranked 25th in the NBA. Their Defensive Rating (115.3 per 100) and Net Rating (-12.5) is 28th.

Dallas are 2-2 at home, and 2-2 ATS. Their Offensive Rating at home is absurd, posting 114.8 points per 100. That's 6th in the NBA - so back them to get it done against the Wiz.

Key Play: Dallas +1.5

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