Portland Trail Blazers vs Atlanta Hawks Prediction: Tame Trail Blazers takes on haphazard Hawks

The NBA Regular Season is a topsy-turvy terrain where fortunes turn in a jiffy and the nonstop action can throw even the best teams out of their rhythm. Hey, when a team plays 82 games each, there is going to be a lot of weight being thrown around. The season has surely taken a toll on the Portland Trail Blazers and they will take on the Atlanta Hawks in a cross-Conference battle.

Portland marches into this game after losing 105:123 against the Raptors despite a 30 points performance by Damian Lillard. They have four losses in the last six games which followed a two-game winning streak. However, before that, they had lost five in a row because of that, they have 26 losses and 23 wins record. The season looks like a lost cause after a strong start but with a ton of games remaining, they still have a chance to get things going.

Both their defense and offense have been inconsistent for most parts. Lillard has been dropping 30+ regularly but he has been the only consistent scorer. Jerami Grant and Anfernee Simons both average over 20 but their up-and-down play has hurt the team lately. Josh Hart is more of a defensive energizer while Nurkic has done his bit. However, the bench has been too weak and Portland needs to make some moves soon

The Hawks come into the game after losing 113:120 against the Clippers despite a 31 points outing by Trae Young. Atlanta has now lost three of their last four games which have undone the hard work when the team won five in a row. Due to their inconsistencies, the Hawks now have 25 wins and 25 losses, after they had begun with seven wins and three losses. They will be on a five-game road trip(currently) so let us see how this pans out.

While Trae has been his usual destructive self and DeJounte Murray has averaged over 20 points but the three-point shooting has been awful. John Collins has been inconsistent whereas DeAndre Hunter has his own limitations. Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu bring tough rebounding and shot-blocking but have big offensive limitations. Overall, the Hawks need to make some trades to bolster their unit.

• Trail Blazers: OUT: Justise Winslow, Ibou Abadji. QUESTIONABLE: Jusuf Nurkic, Josh Hart;
• Hawks: Game-Time Decision: Trae Young.

The Trail Blazers have been vulnerable whereas the Hawks have also their own issues. Defensively, both teams need a lot of work. Let us see how Portland responds after the drubbing by the Raptors whereas the Hawks lost at home too in their last encounter. I expect Lillard and co to come up with a much better effort here. I predict a scoreline of 126:119 in favor of Portland.