Hawks hope to get healthy vs. Suns

Basketball Betting Lines

02/06/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Known to be a formidable foe on their own court, the Atlanta Hawks have stumbled a bit during a four-game homestand and look to restore order at Philips Arena tonight versus the Phoenix Suns.

The Hawks have lost the first two installments of the current homestand and recently suffered a 98-87 loss to Philadelphia Saturday night. Jeff Teague recorded a team-best 21 points and Ivan Johnson notched his first career double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds for Atlanta, which lost to Memphis in the opener of the residency and had won 12 of 15 games before the current two-game slide.

"We've just got to lock up and play defense," Johnson said of Atlanta's interior defense. "That's all it is, playing defense."

Usual Atlanta scorers Joe Johnson and Josh Smith were held to 16 and nine points, respectively, in a losing cause. Smith pulled down 10 rebounds as the Hawks fell to 8-3 as the host and sit two games behind Miami for the Southeast Division lead. Indiana will visit Philips Arena on Wednesday.

Atlanta hopes Johnson can crack the 20-point mark tonight since it's an impressive 11-1 when he hits that mark. The Hawks announced this weekend that forward Jason Collins is expected to miss two weeks with an elbow sprain and are already playing without forward Al Horford, who's out for at least a few months because of a pectoral tear. Atlanta hopes Zaza Pachulia can pick up his inside game while his teammates heal.

Phoenix has alternated wins and losses over its last six games, and will play two straight and five of the next six games on the road. It is 4-8 away from the Valley of the Sun this season.

The Suns recently handed the Charlotte Bobcats a 95-89 defeat on Saturday at home, receiving 17 points from Michael Redd in his first start of the season. Marcin Gortat ended with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Robin Lopez contributed 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter for the Suns.

"I think we need to stay focused, we need to stay somewhat loose I think," Lopez said after helping Phoenix hand Charlotte its 11th straight loss. "I think tonight seemed like some of the guys were having fun and obviously we had some nice dunks. I think before the game the atmosphere was a little loose, we had fun out there."

Steve Nash chipped in 11 points and handed out 10 assists. Phoenix was without starting guard Jared Dudley (thigh), snapping his career-best consecutive games played streak at 206. It was the fourth-longest active streak in the NBA. Dudley is questionable for Monday's game.

Meanwhile, Gortat has double-doubles in 14 of his last 15 games and has pulled down 10-plus rebounds in 15 straight games -- four shy of Charles Barkley's 19-game run back in 1995-96.

The Suns will also visit Milwaukee before returning home to host Houston, and will hit the road again for a three-game trek against Sacramento, Golden State and Denver.

Phoenix swept a home-and-home series with the Hawks a season ago and has won 14 of the past 18 meetings between the teams. The Suns are 9-3 in their previous 12 visits to Atlanta.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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