The Atlanta Hawks are now 9-4 this season with star guard Trae Young (knee) out of the lineup, and they’re heavily favored on the road in an NBA Cup Group Play matchup with the Washington Wizards on Tuesday.

Washington is just 1-15 this season and has the worst net rating (-15.5) in the NBA, going 0-6 at home. The Wizards have lost 14 games in a row, and they’re facing a tough matchup with a Hawks team that has been surging as of late, winning seven of its last 10 games while posting one of the best road records (8-3) in the NBA.

The Hawks have leaned on Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson and many others to pick up the slack with Young out of the lineup, and the team has a top-10 defensive rating over its last 10 games.

Oddsmakers are expecting the Hawks to roll in this matchup (they’re 1-1 in NBA Cup play), but they likely need a blowout win to have any chance of advancing behind Group Play this season.

Here’s a look at the latest odds, my favorite player prop and a prediction for this Eastern Conference battle on Tuesday. 

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

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Hawks Injury ReportWizards Injury ReportHawks Best NBA Prop Bet

This season, Daniels is averaging 5.7 assists per game for the Hawks, but he’s cleared this number in nine games since Young went down with his knee injury. Without the star guard in the lineup, Daniels is averaging 6.7 assists per game and has seen his potential assist numbers jump as well.

Washington is one of the worst defenses in the NBA, ranking dead last in defensive rating and 29th in opponent assists per game, so this is a great matchup to back the Hawks offense.

While Daniels’ scoring numbers haven’t been great this season, he’s done a great job setting the table for his teammates during this run by the Hawks. I love him in this market on Tuesday.

Earlier today, I shared in my NBA Best Bets column – Peter’s Points – why the Hawks are worth a bet on Tuesday night: 

It’s hard not to love the Hawks on Tuesday against the Wizards, as Washington is 0-6 at home this season while Atlanta is 8-3 on the road.

The Hawks have done a great job without Trae Young this season, winning nine of their 13 games without, jumping way up in the Eastern Conference standings in the process.

Atlanta ranks 14th in the NBA in net rating (+2.8), which is way ahead of the Wizards (-15.5), who rank dead last in the NBA in defensive rating this season. Washington is also just 4-12 against the spread with an average scoring margin of -16.2 points per game this season.

With Atlanta off to a 7-4 start against the number on the road, I don’t mind laying the points with the Hawks if needed on Tuesday night. 

Pick: Hawks -10.5 (-120 at DraftKings)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey’s NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on  BetStamp here.

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