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A pair of struggling Eastern Conference teams will collide on Saturday night. The Atlanta Hawks (9-14; 5-18-0 ATS) are going from Toronto to Ohio for this game. There, the Cleveland Cavaliers (13-12; 10-15-0 ATS) are waiting to pounce in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Will Atlanta have enough energy for this 7:40 p.m. EDT battle, or are the Cavaliers going to dominate at home?
(Written before Atlanta's game on Friday night)
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Before taking the court on Friday, Atlanta was stuck in a five-game losing streak. That tends to happen when a team allows 127 points per game over any stretch. The Hawks began the weekend 27th in defensive rating and allowing the third-most points per game. There isn't a team in the league with a worse effective field goal percentage against them. Only three teams allow a higher offensive rebounding percentage. The Hawks are great at forcing turnovers (5th in turnover percentage), but that's about it. Also, a ton of rotational players were out on Friday, with many likely to miss this game too.
Offensively, Trae Young (27.2 ppg and 10.8 apg)is leading a group that's fifth in offensive rating. Even during this losing streak, Atlanta's lowest-scoring game was a 113-point performance. The Hawks are third in offensive rebounding percentage and 11th in turnover percentage. They're 10th in three-point pe rcentage and fifth at the free throw line. Seven players are putting up at least 11 points per game. This offense is dangerous, even if it isn't enough every night.