NBA Lock Alert – Hawks to Pummel Suns

Suns to Get Scorched By Soaring Hawks

Both the Hawks and Suns are top-10 teams in terms of prioritizing the best in the NBA, but the Phoenix Suns haven’t travelled well all season and a desperate loss to the Indiana Pacers has put the toughness of this team in question. After getting off to a favorable start, the Suns have plummeted to just 3-6 ATS in their past 9 games on the road. Travelling to a heated destination like Atlanta, where Hawks are a shining 7-2 ATS, is going to make matters worse for Nash and his crew.

Of course, the most telling sign of the Phoenix Suns’ defensive short comings lies in their inability to protect big leads. In the loss to Indiana, the Suns gave up a 24-point lead and lost 122-114 as a road favorite. Overall the Suns are thee second worst defense in the league, and the fourth worst on the road allowing a whopping 108.7 points per game. It’s hard to argue that their offense is shallow when they lead the league with 110.0 points per game, but this team can’t shift in to a defensive mode that allows them to shut down other teams.

They certainly have the athletes, but they don’t have the coaches that can draw that mindset out of them. Certainly Terry Porter tried adamantly to get Phoenix to play stern defense and it cost him his job last year. The Suns are beginning to remind me of a stubborn brat who only wants to play the kind of game they want to. And as childish as it seems, the Suns are all about offense.

News flash, Phoenix – this isn’t the And1 Tour.

In the NBA teams are marked by their ability to play both ways. The Lakers can run up the score or shut teams down. The Boston Celtics thrive as a defensive stalwart. Even Atlanta, which allows 97.4 points per game, emphasizes defense by deploying Al Horford under the rim to protect the basket. Combine a stellar defense with a bright cast of young stars that average 103.2 points per game and you have one of the more complete teams in the league. Yes, I’m referring to the Atlanta Hawks.

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Phoenix Suns (24-15) vs. Atlanta Hawks (25-13)

Friday, January 15 th — Philips Arena, Atlanta — 7:30pm EST

NBA Betting Line: Atlanta -4.5 (216)

The Hawks have one of the most dangerous shooters in the game in Joe Johnson, two dynamic wing players in Jamal Crawford and Josh Smith and a solid center underneath anchoring down the rebounds and blocks. Running the point is a combination of Bibby and Crawford and all-in-all, you have a well rounded team that can score when it needs to. More importantly, they can play stringent defense.

Simply put, I’m not sold on Phoenix when it comes to traveling. They’re a one-track team that solely focuses on scoring points and against a stiff Atlanta defense that will be very hard to do. This game will certainly be telling if Atlanta has arrived as a premier team or not, but my NBA bet is that they have and they’ll prove their backers right by defending their home court and the NBA betting spread with a victory in the UNDER.

NBA Furious Free Pick: Atlanta -4.5 (UNDER)