NBA Best Bets for November 27: The Hawks Are Sliding in the Standings
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Spread Astaire
- November 27, 2024
Top NBA Pick: Cleveland Cavaliers -12 (-113) at Bookmaker (visit our Bookmaker Review)
After a fun night of NBA Cup action, almost every single team in the league takes the floor tonight before tomorrow’s day off for the holiday.
Let’s take a look at two of the best games that you should bet on at the top-rated sportsbooks.
Atlanta Hawks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Wednesday, November 27, 2024 – 07:00 PM ET at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
The Atlanta Hawks are coming off a disappointing loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night. The Hawks were short favorites in that game but they lost by 10 points to Dallas. The loss was the Hawks’ third loss in a row and dropped the team to 7-11 on the season.
They are currently in 11th place in the Eastern Conference.
Dazzling on Offense, Dazed on Defense
The Hawks are kind of stuck in a rut. They have an electric point guard in Trae Young, who is fun to watch and gives you great highlights every night. However, Trae’s style of play is not conducive to winning basketball.
Trae is one of the worst defenders in the league and is constantly targeted by opposing teams’ offenses. The Hawks are forced to try and hide Trae Young when they are on the defensive side of the ball, and if he’s not red hot on offense, he can end up being a net negative in spite of his beautiful play.
Cavaliers Charge On
The Hawks’ opponents, the Cleveland Cavaliers, are the exact opposite. They are 17-1 and they are first in the Eastern Conference.
After suffering their first loss last Tuesday to the Boston Celtics, the Cavaliers followed it up with two dominating wins, a 28-point win over the Pelicans and a 14-point win over the Raptors. They will look to keep their win streak going at home against the Hawks.
In an interesting scheduling event, these two teams will play again on Friday, although that game will be in Atlanta.
The Pick
I like the Cleveland Cavaliers to get an easy win tonight over the struggling Atlanta Hawks.
The Cavaliers are excellent on both ends of the floor. They combine excellent defense with a strong offense. The Hawks can only beat you one way and that is to outscore you.
Give me the team that plays defense against the flailing team just looking for highlights. Give me the Cleveland Cavaliers.
NBA Pick: Cleveland Cavaliers -12 (-113) at Bookmaker
Sacramento Kings vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
Wednesday, November 27, 2024 – 08:00 PM ET at Target Center
The Minnesota Timberwolves will be at a rest disadvantage after their NBA Cup game last night against the Houston Rockets. However, they face an opponent who they’ve already had success against this season, the Sacramento Kings.
The Timberwolves have beaten the Kings twice this season. First, they defeated them 117-115 in Sacramento on October 24th. Then, they defeated them 130-126 in Sacramento last week in their first NBA Cup game. The Timberwolves seem to have the Kings’ number and that’s not a surprise when you look at how the teams are constructed.
Balance, Brilliance and a Brewing Storm
The Timberwolves have a nice balance of offense and defense on the floor.
Their defense is anchored by Center Rudy Gobert, who has won the Defensive Player of the Year award multiple times. He is an excellent shot blocker and discourages teams from attacking the rim with impunity. This is in stark comparison to the Sacramento Kings, who have a center Domantas Sabonis, who is only great on offense. Although Sabonis gives you a lot of points and rebounds every night, he provides little to no resistance against other teams attacking the rim.
One concern for the Timberwolves is the growing resentment between new addition Julius Randle and center Rudy Gobert. The players obviously dislike each other and there have been multiple instances on the court where you can see Randle’s disdain for Rudy. This is going to be tough on Timberwolves coach Chris Finch to fix.
If he cannot get these two players on the same page, a team that has a chance to contend to win the Western Conference could end up with their season in flames.
Crowns Without Defense
While I am not sure how the conflict resolution between Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert will turn out, I am sure that the Minnesota Timberwolves are on the right side tonight.
The Kings cannot get anything going right now and are currently mired in a 4 game-losing streak. The Kings have a bunch of talented players, but the roster construction is terrible. All their players are offensive oriented and they have nobody to get stops.
In the stacked Western Conference, this will not do. If the Kings continue to struggle, fans will wonder, is it time to make some trades and blow this team up?
The Pick
The Timberwolves will continue to add fuel to the fire of the criticism of the Kings with an easy win tonight. Don’t worry about the rest disadvantage, back to the team that gets it done on both ends of the floor. Lay the points with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
NBA Pick: Minnesota Timberwolves -4.5 (-106) at Bookmaker
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
