Portland Trail Blazers Given Slight Edge To Send Atlanta Hawks Reeling To Another Loss

Ben Simmons (L) and Damian Lillard (R) — Damian Lillard is expected to lead the Trail Blazers anew when they host the visiting Atlanta Hawks. Getty Images | Mitchell Leff

KEY POINTS

Portland and Atlanta will square off for the first time this season
The Blazers are slightly favored when they host the reeling Hawks
Damian Lillard and Trae Young will be the players to watch

The Portland Trail Blazers and the Atlanta Hawks are set to face each other for the first time this season on Monday, January 30, at the Moda Center in a battle between two teams coming off a loss.

It will be the first showdown between the Blazers and the Hawks this 2022-23 NBA season.

Portland is coming off a loss to the Toronto Raptors, 105-123.

Damian Lillard and Jerami Grant led the losing cause with 30 and 28 points respectively.

However, the Trail Blazers were outrebounded, 27-45, and committed 12 turnovers that translated to 22 points for Toronto.

"They came out and imposed their will against us," Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said.

Portland is 17th in the league in team points scored with an average of 113.8 points per contest and carries an offensive rating of 115.2.

Moreover, the Trail Blazers are surrendering 113.5 points per game. Right now, they hold a defensive rating of 114.9.

On the other hand, the Hawks are hoping to bounce back following a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, 113-120.

Trae Young dropped 31 points and 10 assists in that loss, which saw four other Atlanta players finishing with 12 markers or more.

Clint Capella was one of them, chipping in 12 markers to go with 13 boards.

"You've got two guys out there that are all-NBA type players," Young statd. "It's easier said on how to stop those guys than just doing it. They played really good tonight. Kawhi [Leonard] did a really good job of scoring when he needed to and P.G. (Paul George) got everybody involved when he was getting in traps and stuff, but he was scoring early."

The Hawks are scoring 116 points per game and are ninth in the NBA. They own an offensive rating of 113.1.

On the defensive side, they are giving up 116.6 points per contest.

The Blazers are -1.5 favorites to win over the Hawks, who are at +1.5. Meanwhile, the moneyline is -125 for Portland and +105 for Atlanta.

The game will be telecast over NBA TV at 10:00 PM ET with live streaming available via fuboTV.