Denver Nuggets vs Atlanta Hawks Prediction, Preview and Odds - 12/17/2021

Game Time: 7:30 pm ET, Friday, December 17, 2021

Venue:  State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA

Where to Watch:  BSSE

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Nuggets +4, Hawks -4; Over/Under:  221 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Nuggets NL, Hawks NL; Over/Under:  NL points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Nuggets NL, Hawks NL; Over/Under:  NL points

 

Denver Nuggets:  14-14 (2nd place, Northwest Division)

Atlanta Hawks:  14-14 (4th place, Southeast Division)

 

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Ben Burns has a record of 20-6 (10*) NBA SIDES! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

 

Denver Nuggets:  5-5 last 10

Atlanta Hawks:  5-5 last 10

 

 

 

The Nuggets are coming into this game with a 14-14 record overall and they are 6-9 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They have won 2 of their last 3 games but are coming into this one off of a loss in their last game. Their 2 wins in that span were against the San Antonio Spurs and the Washington Wizards while their loss came against the Minnesota Timberwolves in their last game. Nikola Jokic led the team in points in that game with 27 while Monte Morris was next on the team with 15 points. Jokic also led the team in assists in that game with 11 and he led the team in rebounds as well with 10. They were 45.2% from the field, 35.9% from 3-point range, and 73.9% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 105.9 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 106.2 PPG against them. The Nuggets have an ATS record of 12-16 this season and their O/U record is 16-12.

 

 

The Hawks are coming into this game with a 14-14 record overall and they are 8-6 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They have lost 2 of their last 3 games but are coming into this one off of a win in their last game which snapped a 2 game losing streak that they were on. Their 2 losses in that span were against the Brooklyn Nets and the Houston Rockets while their win came against the Orlando Magic in their last game. Trae Young led the team in points in that game with 28 while John Collins was next on the team with 21 points. Kevin Huerter and Delon Wright off the bench both led the team in assists in that game with 5 each while Clint Capela led the team in rebounds with 11. They were 49.4% from the field, 35.5% from 3-point range, and 100% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 111.4 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 109.1 PPG against them. The Hawks have an ATS record of 12-16 this season and their O/U record is 14-14.

 

 

The Nuggets are coming into this game as a 4 point underdog with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Both of these teams have been very inconsistent in their recent games and in all of their games overall this season. The Nuggets are coming into this game playing a bit better than the Hawks have been in their recent games and the Hawks are missing a few of their starters for this game. The Nuggets also have injuries but not to as many key players and their team is basically the Jokic show so as long as he is in he will be able to carry them. The best bet to place in this game is on the Nuggets since they have been playing in better form and it is safer to take the points here with two inconsistent teams. 

 

Nuggets Hawks Prediction:  Our NBA Pick for Friday, December 17, 2021 (7:30 pm ET start time) is Nuggets 109 Hawks 106.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert basketball picks today.  And if you enjoyed this Denver Nuggets Atlanta Hawks prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NBA predictions and previews.

 

 

Denver Nuggets: 25-18 O/U as an underdog of 3.5 to 9.5 points. 9-4 O/U as an underdog. 7-3 O/U as a road underdog. 10-5 O/U in road games. 20-8 O/U in December games. 17-8 O/U against Southeast division opponents. 30-13 O/U after a division game. 8-2 O/U after 2 or more consecutive overs. 10-2 O/U off a loss against a division rival.  

Atlanta Hawks: 42-23 O/U after having lost 4 or 5 of their last 6 games. 23-16 ATS as a favorite of 3.5 to 9.5 points. 30-17 ATS as a home favorite. 20-9 ATS as a home favorite of 6 points or less. 54-37 ATS in home games. 27-20 ATS in a home game where the total is 220 to 229.5. 

 

 

Denver Nuggets:  N. Hyland (PG) Ques Fri - Undisclosed injury. J. Green (PF) Ques Fri - Ankle injury. A. Rivers (PG) Out indefinitely - Illness. M. Porter Jr. (PF) Out indefinitely - Back injury. P. Dozier (SG) out for season - Knee injury. J. Murray (SG) Out indefinitely - Knee injury.

Atlanta Hawks:  O. Okongwu (PF) Prob Fri - Shoulder injury. S. Hill (SF) out for season - Hamstring injury. B. Bogdanovic (SG) Late Dec - Foot injury. D. Hunter (PF) Mid Jan - Wrist injury.

 

 

 

"They made all those 3s, Edwards was the biggest, scoring 10 of them. But it wasn't just him. We, as a group, need to be better (defensively) and hopefully we will." - Nikola Jokic on their loss against the T-wolves on Wednesday night.

 

 

"I just like the way that we responded tonight, coming on the road and just being solid throughout the game. The things that we talked out, we did them. Trying to play a perfect game, we can't do that, but we're going to try." - Nate McMillan on his team’s win against the Magic on Wednesday night.

 

 

 

PG    Monte Morris

SG    Will Barton

SF     Aaron Gordon

PF    Jeff Green

C     Nikola Jokic

 

PG    Trae Young

SG    Lou Williams

SF    Kevin Huerter

PF    John Collins

C     Clint Capela

 

 

PPG: N. Jokic (26.6)

APG: N. Jokic (7.5)

Reb/G: N. Jokic (13.6)

 

PPG: T. Young (27)

APG: T. Young (9.3)

Reb/G: C. Capela (12.9)

 

Coaches:

Denver Nuggets: Michael Malone (7th season)

Atlanta Hawks: Nate McMillan (2nd season)