Cavs vs. Hawks Game 2 Betting line

Carrie Stroup here with your Cavs vs. Hawks Game 2 betting line courtesy of Sportsbook.ag.  We also have a Baseball pick for the Dodgers vs. Red Sox.

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (62-31) at ATLANTA HAWKS (68-27)

Eastern Conference Finals – Game 2

Sportsbook.ag Line: Atlanta -2, Total: 195.5

The Hawks look to even up the series when they host the Cavaliers in Game 2 on Friday.

The Hawks were 2-point home favorites against the Cavaliers in Game 1, but Cleveland came away with a huge 97-88 victory. The Cavaliers were 10-for-26 from the outside and outrebounded the Hawks 60-43. Atlanta will not stand much of a chance if they do not rebound the ball better on Friday. The team was also just 4-for-23 from the outside and for a group that relies on outside shooting, that type of display gives them pretty much no chance of winning as well.

Prior to the loss on Wednesday, the Hawks had won five straight games at home against the Cavaliers SU. They will need to regain their composure and make sure that Cleveland doesn’t get comfortable in Philips Arena. The Cavaliers are 15-5 ATS after five straight games forcing an opponent to commit 14 or less turnovers over the past two seasons. The Hawks, however, are 16-6 ATS on Friday nights this year and 8-0 ATS in home games revenging a straight up loss versus an opponent as a home favorite over the past three seasons.

PG Kyrie Irving (Knee) is questionable for the Cavs, who are already without PF Kevin Love (Shoulder) and C Anderson Varejao (Achilles) for the season. SF DeMarre Carroll (Knee) is questionable for the Hawks, but it’d be more surprising if he played than if he sat.

The Cleveland Cavaliers picked up a huge victory in Game 1 and SF LeBron James (26.9 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 7.7 APG, 1.8 SPG in playoffs) led the way with 31 points, eight boards, six assists and one steal in 38 minutes of action. James was dominant for Cleveland and should be able to play even better as the Hawks will not be as strong at the small forward position with DeMarre Carroll playing hurt or out. James needs to be aggressive as a scorer and also set his teammates up for some easy shots on Friday. He knows that if his team can win this game then it will be extremely difficult for them to not make it to the NBA Finals.

PG Kyrie Irving (18.9 PPG, 3.5 APG, 3.3 RPG, 1.1 SPG in playoffs) has been playing injured for Cleveland. He is questionable for this game as he is still experiencing a lot of pain in his left knee, but he did have 10 points and six assists on Wednesday. Any shots he can hit will help the team, as too much focus has been on stopping James with the rest of his team depleted.

SG J.R. Smith (13.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.3 SPG in playoffs) was the spark that the Cavaliers needed in Game 1. He outscored the entire Hawks bench by himself, pouring in 28 points with eight rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal on 10-for-16 shooting from the field and 8-for-12 shooting from behind the arc. The team needs him to be effective as a scorer the rest of the way.

C Timofey Mozgov (8.6 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.0 BPG) had a good game for the Cavaliers, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds in 24 minutes. He’ll need to continue to use his body to make things tough on Al Horford.

The Hawks made a late push at the end of Game 1, but they were unable to ever regain the lead and must now win Game 2 or the series will be over fast. PG Jeff Teague (16.2 PPG, 7.2 APG, 3.2 RPG, 1.6 SPG in playoffs) played one of his best games in the playoffs so far, finishing with 27 points, four assists and two steals in 39 minutes of action. He went right after the injured Kyrie Irving and will need to continue to take advantage of whoever is playing the point for Cleveland this series. He must take better care of the basketball as he had two crucial turnovers late in the game that deflated his team.

PF Paul Millsap (15.5 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 1.1 BPG in playoffs) struggled offensively in Game 1, going 3-for-11 from the field with 13 points. He was good on defense though and could need to guard LeBron James if SF DeMarre Carroll (16.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.2 SPG in playoffs) is unable to play.

SG Kyle Korver (11.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.5 SPG in playoffs) finally played a solid game for the Hawks. Korver had nine points, seven boards and three assists on 3-for-5 shooting from the field in Game 1. He’ll need to keep hitting shots for his team to have a chance at advancing.

C Al Horford (15.6 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 3.9 APG, 1.6 BPG in playoffs) had 16 points and seven boards on 8-for-12 shooting in Game 1. He’ll need to be even better offensively with Carroll out and Millsap likely tired from covering James.

LOS ANGELES ANGELS (21-20) at BOSTON RED SOX (19-22)                               

Sportsbook.ag Line: Boston -117, Los Angeles +107, Total: 8                                                                

The Los Angeles Angels and Boston Red Sox meet at Fenway Park for the start of a weekend series on Friday night.                                                                              

The Angels have been flirting around the .500 mark all year and they have recently been able to get over the hump with a 10-5 record in their last 15 games. They have won or split each of the last five series and recently took 2-of-4 games in Toronto to start the week. L.A. was outscored 23-17 in the split and was unable to win the series after an 8-4 loss on Thursday. The offense had limited opportunities to score, going 2-for-5 with RISP as three of the four runs came from the long ball. OF Mike Trout (.295) has continued to play at an elite level and was 5-for-10 with a double, HR and five runs in the last three contests.

Boston has not given itself much of a chance this year with its inconsistent play and has lost four of its last six games coming into this matchup. They were unable to do much of anything against the lowly Texas Rangers, losing 2-of-3 games and scoring a meager six runs in the process. The final game was a 3-1 defeat as the Red Sox were 0-for-6 with RISP and failed to back a solid outing by starter Clay Buchholz (7.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 4 K).

It will be RHP Garrett Richards (3-2, 2.29 ERA) that gets the call for the Angels in this matchup as he goes against RHP Rick Porcello (4-2, 4.26 ERA) of the host Red Sox. With Thursday’s loss, Los Angeles saw its road record move to .500 (11-11) as it faces this Boston group which is a poor 8-11 when playing at home. The Angels have gotten the best of this opponent recently, winning 8-of-13 games since the start of 2013 and are a solid 5-2 in Fenway Park.

Last time they visited here they took 3-of-4 games as the Red Sox scored a total of eight runs. Trends show that Boston is a putrid 26-47 (.356) at home when the total is 8.5 to 10 in the past two seasons as Porcello’s teams are 17-6 (.739) in the first half of the season when he starts in the same timeframe. The injury report has 1B Albert Pujols (Wrist) as questionable for the Angels while 3B Pablo Sandoval (Knee) is questionable and Cs Ryan Hanigan (Hand) and Christian Vazquez (Elbow) are out for the Red Sox.                                                                                                               

Richards has been phenomenal through his first six starts of the year with 36 strikeouts in 39.1 IP (8.2 K/9) and a 2.29 ERA. He has done this despite showing some shaky control (3.9 BB/9) as he is giving up a mere 0.23 HR/9. The 26-year-old is getting away with batters hitting a mere .220 BABIP as he has let just 2.8% of his fastballs leave the park. He has not allowed more than three runs in any of his outings this year and has given his team at least six frames of work in all but his first start.

He’s pitched against the Red Sox six times (2 starts) in his career, going 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA (1.80 WHIP) with a poor 11:6 K/BB ratio in 13.1 innings. In the two starts he has totaled eight innings, giving up five runs (3 ER) with a hit given up per inning. No one on Boston has more than seven at-bats against the righty, but 1B Mike Napoli (4-for-7, 1 double, 1 HR, 3 RBI) has been great in the limited time as OF Brock Holt is hitless with two strikeouts in six at-bats.

The bullpen for Los Angeles is 6-5 with a 3.30 ERA (1.14 WHIP) and are 14-for-21 (67%) in save chances. Huston Street (2.55 ERA, 14 saves) continues to impress and has pitched six straight scoreless innings with two hits allowed and an 8:0 K/BB ratio coming into this game.                                                                                

The Red Sox grabbed Porcello with high hopes and thus far it has been a mixed bag with his four most recent showings being impressive. In that time he has pitched 25.2 innings, allowing six runs on 23 hits with a 21:5 K/BB ratio. Boston was 4-0 during that time and signs are looking good for the 26-year-old as he is striking out a career-high 7.8 batters per nine innings and continues to show solid control (2.3 BB/9).

He’s had 11 starts against the Angels in his career, going 4-4 with a bloated 6.52 ERA (1.53 WHIP), but did great in two outings against them last year, totaling 14 IP and giving up two runs (1 ER) on 10 hits in that time. OF Mike Trout (5-for-15, 1 HR, 6 RBI) has hit the righty hard, but SS Erik Aybar and OF Matt Joyce have combined to go a mere 7-for-38 (.184) with seven strikeouts.

The relievers for the Sox are a combined 7-5 with a 3.62 ERA (1.32 WHIP) and have successfully converted 10-of-16 (63%) of saves. Koji Uehara (2.08 ERA, 10 saves) has just one of the blown saves and has given up one run on two hits with a 9:2 K/BB ratio in his last 8.2 innings of work.

 - Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter