Atlanta Hawks vs. Brooklyn Nets Prediction: Can Dejounte Murray Step Up Tonight Without Trae Young?
The Atlanta Hawks travel to Brooklyn tonight to take on the Nets in the Barclays Center. Can Dejounte Murray step up tonight without Trae Young? Ben Rajavuori breaks down this highly anticipated game.
Ben Rajavuori - February 29, 2024, 2:33 PM EST
5 minAtlanta Hawks vs. Brooklyn Nets Prediction: Can Dejounte Murray Step Up Tonight Without Trae Young?
The Atlanta Hawks enter this game sitting in tenth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 26–32. They are right ahead of the Brooklyn Nets, who are in 11th place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 22–36. The Nets are slight favorites tonight with a line of -120 on the moneyline as the Hawks are still without Trae Young in this game, who has missed the last two games with a torn ligament in his finger. However, the Hawks have won the last two games without Trae Young, beating the Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz. What should we expect tonight?
HAWKS VS. NETS DATE, TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date: February 29, 2024
- Game Time: 7:30 pm ET
- Where to Watch: NBA League Pass
ATLANTA HAWKS VS. BROOKLYN NETS PREDICTION
The player I am targeting tonight is Hawks guard Dejounte Murray. Murray is in his second year with the Hawks and seventh season in the NBA overall. He is averaging 21.5 points this season with 5.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists, averaging 32.3 points+rebounds+assists (PRA) per game. However, his line tonight is 36.5 PRA in the absence of Trae Young.
This is because Murray has played very well in his role while accumulating heavy minutes without Trae Young. While Murray is averaging 32.3 PRA this season, he has averaged 40.1 PRA in the seven games without Trae Young. He had 45 against the Magic earlier this week and only hit 32 against the Jazz, but I like him to clear this number again.
While Murray plays both shooting guard and point guard when Trae Young is healthy, he plays mostly point guard when Young is not in and his assists skyrocket. I also expect him to score more points tonight, as the Nets are allowing the fifth most points to point guards per game at 25.7 points per game. Dejounte Murray has played the Nets twice this season and has failed to pass this line in both games, but he was playing shooting guard in both those games as Trae Young was healthy and doing a majority of the scoring and passing.
Even then, Murray got close both times, accumulating 34 PRA in the first meeting of the season and 32 PRA in the most recent meeting. That is on top of shooting 28.6% from the field in the first meeting in 37.5% from the field in the second, which means, his shooting should progress and, with the increase in volume without Trae Young, he should easily pass 36.5 PRA. His floor in the last few games against the Nets was in the low 30s on very poor shooting, so I have no doubt that he can hit 37 PRA tonight against them.
ATLANTA HAWKS VS. BROOKLYN NETS Pick
Pick: Dejounte Murray Over 36.5 Points+Rebounds+Assists -115 Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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