The Atlanta Hawks are 0-5 straight up and against the spread in their last five games on the road. To avoid pushing this set to a series-deciding Game 7, the Hawks would need a road win on Thursday against the Boston Celtics.
Hawks vs. Celtics, NBA playoff 2016 odds: Atlanta Game 6 favorite on road at Boston
The Atlanta Hawks will try to pick up the first road win in this series on Thursday night in Boston as small betting favorites at the sportsbooks.
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Atlanta is a 2-point road betting favorite in Thursday’s Game 6 at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Hawks were a 3-point road favorite in Game 3 and a 1-point road underdog in Game 4.
Going just 6-of-34 from the field to start Tuesday night, the Hawks appeared to be in for a long night in a must-win Game 5 at home. Down 29-19, Atlanta suddenly found its groove and got red-hot on offense, sinking 11 straight shots including five from three-point range. The Hawks scored 74 points in the second and third quarters combined, eventually running away with a 110-83 win and cover as a 7.5-point home favorite.
Atlanta has struggled as a small favorite recently with a 10-12 SU and 8-13-1 ATS record in its last 22 games as a favorite of three points or fewer per the OddsShark NBA Database.
Not many teams could find an answer for a team that was shooting as hot as Atlanta was in Game 5, but the Celtics had to be disappointed that they couldn’t take better advantage of Atlanta’s ice-cold start.
Atlanta switched up its defensive strategy in Game 5, opting to double or triple cover Isaiah Thomas in an effort to force someone else to beat them. The plan worked as the Celtics shot just 29-for-77 from the floor and Thomas only had seven points. Boston is 17-3 SU and 14-6 ATS in its last 20 games at home.
Thursday’s total is set at 197 points on the NBA betting lines. The UNDER is 4-1 through the first five games of this series.
After having success with swarming Thomas in Game 5, the Hawks are likely to go back to that strategy on the road in Game 6. How Thomas’ supporting cast performs could be the difference between Boston forcing a Game 7 and having its season come to an end on Thursday night.
