ATLANTA vs CLEVELAND 10/21/2018 Odds, Picks & Preview

The ATLANTA and the CLEVELAND will both be gunning for a victory on 10/21/2018 at 6:05 PM when they meet in a game matchup.

ATLANTA HAWKS vs CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
When: 6:00 PM  ET, Sunday, October 21, 2018
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio

TV: 6:05 PM
LINE: -7.5
PREDICTION: CLEVELAND , ATLANTA

Oddsmakers currently have the CLEVELAND listed as -7.5 point favorites versus the ATLANTA, while the game’s total is sitting at 230.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Atlanta Hawks both ran into some trouble on the defensive end on Friday and ended up on the wrong end of scoreboard. Both teams will be looking for a better effort on that end of the floor when the Cavaliers host the Hawks on Sunday.

Cleveland is still adjusting to life without LeBron James and struggled to get consistent stops in a 131-123 loss at the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday – its second straight loss to begin the season. The Cavaliers allowed the Toronto Raptors to shoot 48.9 percent in the opener and showed even more holes while letting the Timberwolves go off at 50.6 percent, though they put up a fight with a late rally. The Hawks were run off the floor in a 126-107 loss to the New York Knicks in the opener and were even worse on the defensive end while allowing the Memphis Grizzlies to shoot 54.3 percent in a 131-117 setback on Friday. Atlanta is a young team trying to build back into a postseason contender and the defense is not helped by an offense that committed a total of 43 turnovers in the first two contests.

TV: 6 p.m. ET, FS South (Atlanta), FS Ohio (Cleveland)

ABOUT THE HAWKS (0-2): Atlanta small forward Taurean Prince, 24, began to emerge last season and is becoming a go-to scorer on the young squad. The Baylor product scored 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting in Friday’s loss after putting up 21 points in the loss at New York on Wednesday, leading the team in both contests. The Hawks are also leaning on rookie point guard Trae Young, who followed up 14 points in the opener with 20 points and nine assists in Friday’s setback while knocking down four 3-pointers.

ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (0-2): Cleveland is trying to lean on power forward Kevin Love with James gone and the All-Star delivered 25 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists on Friday despite shooting 6-of-19 from the floor. James’ departure is also opening playing time at the small forward spot for Cedi Osman, who collected 22 points and eight assists on Friday after posting a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) in Wednesday’s opening loss at Toronto. Osman averaged just 11 minutes in 61 games during his 2017-18 rookie campaign but averaged 34 minutes in the first two games of 2018-19.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Cavaliers PF Larry Nance Jr. (ankle) missed the first two games and is questionable for Sunday.

2. Atlanta SG Vince Carter, 41, scored in double figures in each of the first two games.

3. Cleveland took three of the four meetings last season, with the lone loss coming at home on Nov. 5.

PREDICTION: Cavaliers 123, Hawks 116

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