Atlanta Hawks vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 04/08/26

Atlanta’s loss to New York ended a 4-game win streak by the Hawks, but they’re hoping to get back on track as they visit the Cavaliers on Wednesday. This team has won 17 of 20 games, with a bit of luck they could have pushed the Knicks game into OT, but McCollum’s half court heave came too late. The Hawks have a one game edge on the Raptors for the 5th seed, that would actually match them up with the Cavs in a potential 1st Round series. In theory the Hawks could risk it and try falling down to 6th to face the Knicks, but that would be a risky proposition with the 76ers and Magic lurking right behind them.

For Cleveland things are pretty straight forward – the worst they can do is finish 4th, but with a bit of luck they could still overtake the Knicks in 3rd if they wanted to. With 8 wins in 10 games they are one of the more in-form teams in the Conference, their last win saw them put up an impressive 142 points on the Memphis Grizzlies for their 3rd straight triumph overall. Donovan Mitchell opted to sit that game due to an ankle issue, he is once again listed as questionable for tonight, but given the magnitude of the game I think he guts it out and plays. He’s put on a show in both meetings vs the Hawks this season, averaging 39.5 points on over 55% from the field and 50% from three. Together with Harden he has formed one of the more prolific offensive duos in the NBA this season.

These two teams will meet up one more time in Atlanta on Friday. The Cavs have been a well-oiled machine at home lately, winning 11 of 14 games. Playing there should give them the edge in my opinion. These next two meetings will tell us just how important is to have home court advantage in the postseason. I’ll side with the Cavs in this one.

 Atlanta Hawks vs Cleveland Cavaliers Predictions: Cavaliers -1.5 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.