Free NBA Picks Today: Atlanta Hawks vs Cleveland Cavaliers 2/24/23

The Cleveland Cavaliers (38-24, 13-17 Away), one of the league’s top shooting teams, head to face the Atlanta Hawks (29-30, 15-12 Home) on Friday. Cleveland is playing on back-to-back days after being defeated by the Denver Nuggets 115-109 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse yesterday.

Evan Mobley led the way in the losing effort with 31 points and nine rebounds. The Cavaliers are the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta lost in blowout fashion on February 15 at State Farm Arena, falling to the New York Knicks 122-101.

De’Andre Hunter scored 20 points to lead the team in scoring in the losing effort. With 19 points and 11 assists, Trae Young also played a part. The Hawks are the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. The teams are meeting for the final time this season.

Cleveland will be pursuing a season sweep against Atlanta after coming out on top in the only earlier game 114-102 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in November 2022. Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 29 points and nine assists.

Young had 25 points in the losing effort. Mitchell is averaging 27.2 points per game, eighth-highest in the league, to lead the Cavs in scoring this season. Meanwhile, Darius Garland is dishing 7.9 assists per game, sixth-most in the league, and Jarrett Allen is grabbing 9.9 rebounds per game.

Young’s 26.7 points per game have powered the Hawks on offense. He has the 10th-highest scoring average in the league. Young also has distributed 10.3 assists per game, second-most in the league. Clint Capela has collected 11.3 rebounds per game.

The Cavaliers are one of the most accurate teams from the field in the NBA, ranking fifth at 48.8%. The teams have split their last 10 matchups at State Farm Arena (5-5). Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are 7-3 when playing two days in a row this season and 6-2 in such games against rested opponents.

The Hawks are 7-3 with a rest advantage. In the last 10 games, Cleveland is 7-3 with an average margin of +9.7 (112.7-103.0). Atlanta has a 4-6 record over the last 10, averaging 118.0 points per game both for and against.

CAVALIERS HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Dean Wade: 4.8 | 9.9 | -5.1
Points per game:
Evan Mobley: 22.2 | 16.0 | +6.2
Caris LeVert: 5.8 | 11.9 | -6.1
Rebounds per game:
Donovan Mitchell: 5.4 | 4.0 | +1.4

HAWKS HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Saddiq Bey: 12.5 | 20.8 | -8.3
Points per game:
Saddiq Bey: 7.0 | 14.5 | -7.5
Rebounds per game:
John Collins: 3.3 | 7.1 | -3.8
Assists per game:
Trae Young: 14.0 | 10.3 | +3.8
Dejounte Murray: 4.4 | 6.1 | -1.7