Eastern Conference contenders meet on the Thursday NBA schedule as the Cleveland Cavaliers visit the Atlanta Hawks. The Cavaliers enter at 3-1 after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals last season and are coming off a win against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday. The Hawks stand at 2-3 following a loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday; Atlanta earned two playoff victories against the New York Knicks during their championship run last spring, more than all of New York's other postseason opponents combined.
Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. The teams split their four matchups last season, with the home team winning each game.
Odds and Betting Lines
The Hawks are 1.5-point favorites in the latest odds, with an over/under of 237.5 points. The money line lists Atlanta at -108 and Cleveland at -105.
Model Predictions
After 10,000 simulations, the SportsLine Projection Model leans toward the Over on the total. Atlanta has hit the Over in four of its first five games this season, while two of Cleveland's last three games have also cleared the total. The Hawks rank fifth in the NBA in scoring offense at 120.2 points per game, with the Cavaliers seventh at 119.8 points per game. The model projects a combined 240 points, making the Over the value play 52% of the time.
The model also indicates one side of the spread hits nearly 60% of the time. The SportsLine Projection Model has returned nearly $19,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks since 2018, including five straight seasons of four-digit profit, and enters Week 2 of the 2026-27 season on a 26-10 (72%) run on top-rated spread picks.
