NBA: Hawks to beat Nets in Friday night treble
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The regular season is almost over and while most teams know what their summer holds there are still some fighting for a postseason berth.
Two of those sides – New York and Atlanta – take to the court tonight and while the Hawks look set to enhance their credentials the Knicks could finally see their hopes extinguished.
In this Friday night treble we’re tipping Atlanta to make the most of Brooklyn’s injury woes, New York to crumble in Toronto and Chicago to extend their current run against local rivals Detroit.
At odds of over 7/2 this tasty treble pays out at £46.50 from a stake of just £10.
With a playoff spot already assured Brooklyn (43-35) have little to play for in this end of season tie.
Jason Kidd is not a manager who will accept anything less than 100 per cent on the court but the fact that Atlanta (35-43) are still chasing a postseason spot means they pose a real threat in this matchup.
The Nets are 6-2 from their last eight but with Andray Blatche, Shaun Livingston, Brook Lopez and Paul Pierce all likely to miss out, Mike Budenholzer’s men will be confident of a win.
The Hawks have won four of their last six outings and with qualification in the balance simply cannot afford to lose here.
New York (33-45) are the main threat to Atlanta’s playoff hopes but are not exactly playing as such.
The Knicks have lost two on the bounce to go 12-5 from 17 and despite some decent road form (seven wins from 10) are unlikely to add to the Hawks’ pressure with a win here.
Toronto (43-35) have already secured a postseason place but are one of the few teams not resting on their laurels since earning that spot.
Four consecutive wins has the Raptors at 7-1 from their last eight and an extension of their five-game home win streak looks inevitable.
With the playoffs assured it can be difficult to get pumped up for end-of-season fixtures.
However, the Bulls (46-32) will need little motivation as they go into this tie looking to secure local bragging rights and a seventh straight win to build up momentum ahead of the postseason.
The Windy City championship hopefuls have won four of their last five at the United Center and with the Pistons (29-50) already looking forward to their summer holidays and on a run of 6-18 from 24 an easy win is on the cards for the hosts.
Detroit have lost 17 of 19 on the road so expect the Bulls to charge into a commanding lead and stay there tonight.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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