Who’s Playing
Atlanta @ Portland
Current Records: Atlanta 16-19; Portland 13-22
What to Know
The Portland Trail Blazers and the Atlanta Hawks are even-steven against one another since December of 2015 (6-6), but not for long. After a few days’ rest for both teams, they will meet up at 10 p.m. ET Jan. 3 at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Atlanta will be strutting in after a victory while the Trail Blazers will be stumbling in from a loss.
The night started off rough for Portland this past Friday, and it ended that way, too. They were completely outmatched by the Los Angeles Lakers on the road and fell 139-106. Portland was down 101-77 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from. A silver lining for them was the play of shooting guard Ben McLemore, who shot 6-for-14 from downtown and finished with 28 points.
Meanwhile, this past Friday Atlanta capped 2021 off with a 121-118 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The victory came about thanks to a strong surge after the half to overcome a 66-51 deficit. Atlanta relied on the efforts of point guard Trae Young, who shot 5-for-12 from beyond the arc and finished with a double-double on 35 points and 11 assists, and center Clint Capela, who dropped a double-double on 23 rebounds and 18 points along with four blocks. That makes it three consecutive games in which Capela has had at least 15 rebounds.
The Trail Blazers are expected to lose this next one by 4. Now might not be the best time to take Portland against the spread since they’ve let down bettors for the past four consecutive games.
Portland’s defeat took them down to 13-22 while Atlanta’s win pulled them up to 16-19. A win for Portland would reverse both their bad luck and Atlanta’s good luck. We’ll see if Portland manages to pull off that tough task or if Atlanta keeps their momentum going instead.
How To Watch
- When: Monday at 10 p.m. ET
- Where: Moda Center at the Rose Quarter — Portland, Oregon
- TV: Bally Sports – Southeast
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Ticket Cost: $19.57
Odds
The Hawks are a 4-point favorite against the Trail Blazers, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Hawks as a 3.5-point favorite.
Over/Under: -110
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Series History
Portland and Atlanta both have six wins in their last 12 games.
- May 03, 2021 – Atlanta 123 vs. Portland 114
- Jan 16, 2021 – Portland 112 vs. Atlanta 106
- Feb 29, 2020 – Atlanta 129 vs. Portland 117
- Nov 10, 2019 – Portland 124 vs. Atlanta 113
- Mar 29, 2019 – Portland 118 vs. Atlanta 98
- Jan 26, 2019 – Portland 120 vs. Atlanta 111
- Jan 05, 2018 – Portland 110 vs. Atlanta 89
- Dec 30, 2017 – Atlanta 104 vs. Portland 89
- Mar 18, 2017 – Portland 113 vs. Atlanta 97
- Feb 13, 2017 – Atlanta 109 vs. Portland 104
- Jan 20, 2016 – Atlanta 104 vs. Portland 98
- Dec 21, 2015 – Atlanta 106 vs. Portland 97
Injury Report for Portland
- Damian Lillard: Out (Abdomen)
- Cody Zeller: Out (Covid-19)
- Brandon Williams: Out (Covid-19)
- Cameron McGriff: Out (Covid-19)
- CJ McCollum: Out (Chest)
Injury Report for Atlanta
- Gorgui Dieng: Out (Covid-19)
- Bogdan Bogdanovic: Out (Covid-19)
- Malik Ellison: Out (Covid-19)
- John Collins: Out (Covid-19)
- Cam Reddish: Out (Ankle)
- Jalen Johnson: Out (Covid-19)
- De’Andre Hunter: Out (Wrist)
- Solomon Hill: Out for the Season (Hamstring)
