2022 NBA Betting Picks: Have Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks Arrived?

Eric Uribe
By , Updated on: Jan 31, 2022 12:00 AM
2022 NBA Betting Picks: Have Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks Arrived?

The 2021-22 regular season has quickly become a golden age for online NBA betting. Sure, on a game-to-game basis, decisions are getting harder to make. Injuries and entries into the league's health and safety protocols have made for inconsistent rotations and matchups. But if you're also looking into betting odds on the 2022 Finals, you're now being treated to a deep well of legitimate, potentially profitable options.

One of these dark-horse candidates will be the primary subject of our latest 2022 NBA betting picks, because Trae Young and the surging Atlanta Hawks have officially arrived, and it's time everybody knew it.

Before we dive into Atlanta Hawks vs. Toronto Raptors picks, though, here are the latest NBA betting odds for all of the action on Monday, January 31:

FavoriteBovadaBovadaUnderdog
Atlanta Hawks-166+136Toronto Raptors
Denver Nuggets-200+240Milwaukee Bucks
Dallas Mavericks-205+175Orlando Magic
Phoenix Suns-107+660San Antonio Spurs
Indiana Pacers-208+169LA Clippers
Philadelphia 76ers-244+108Memphis Grizzlies
Cleveland Cavaliers-210+180New Orleans Pelicans
Boston Celtics-166+136Miami Heat
New York Knicks-250+125Sacramento Kings
Golden State Warriors-294+234Houston Rockets
Portland Trail Blazers-132+109Oklahoma City Thunder

Though these betting odds on the NBA shouldn't move too drastically between now and the opening tips, always remember to double-check them for accuracy before making any 2022 NBA predictions. We also recommend going through our reviews of the top online sportsbooks. They are jam-packed with information and should allow you to find the best 2022 NBA betting sites.

The Atlanta Hawks have the NBA on High Alert

Six.

That's how many games the Hawks have now won in a row, ostensibly resurrecting a season that once seemed lost. Trae Young has reinforced his top-10 candidacy, which isn't really news but remains important. 

Equally salient: Atlanta has spent the past few weeks fine-tuning their defense. What was once a porous attack on the perimeter and slow-to-react machine on the inside is now a highly alert five-man unit operating together, in concert, nearly across the board. If the Hawks keep playing like this, they are absolutely threats to come out of the Eastern Conference.

Beating the Raptors on Monday will be tough. Toronto is surging in their own right, and Atlanta is on the second night of a back-to-back, working off a Sunday victory in which they needed a 38-20 fourth-quarter run to pull it out. That could exhaust them in advance of this one. We're betting it doesn't, because right now, the Hawks are special.

OSB Prediction: Atlanta Hawks (-166)

Atlanta Hawks To beat the Toronto Raptors
Bovada
-166

Mavs Should Take Down Magic

Trusting the Dallas Mavericks this season has proven impossible. They barely have an above-.500 record when they're the moneyline favorite. For those keeping score at home, that's really bad.

And yet, the Mavs have quietly assembled one of the NBA's top defenses. They have gotten a little lucky with an opponent outside shooting, but they're also doing a nice job limiting transition opportunities and cleaning up the defensive glass.

Dallas' offense leaves much to be desired, even with Luka Doncic in the fold. That shouldn't really matter against an Orlando Magic rotation that gets bleak after its top-six players.

OSB Prediction: Dallas Mavericks (-205)

Dallas Mavericks To beat the Orlando Magic
Bovada
-166

Warriors Dramatically Undervalued vs. Rockets

How are the Golden State Warriors not monstrous favorites against the Houston Rockets? We're talking -750 heavyweights or something.

Indeed, Draymond Green won't be available. But that's been the case for a while now, and the Warriors are winning anyway. Klay Thompson has started to find his legs after returning from a torn ACL and ruptured Achilles, and Stephen Curry's offensive gravity remains unparalleled.

Houston, to their credit, has turned in randomly gutsy performances over the course of the season. This isn't going to be one of them.

OSB Prediction: Golden State Warriors (-294)

Golden State Warriors To beat the Houston Rockets
Bovada
-294

Clippers Can Pull Off Upset Over Pacers

Anyone investing in the Indiana Pacers right now is setting themselves up for disaster. They look like a different team every time they play. 

On the bright side, they have fared a lot better at home than on the road, and the LA Clippers are still missing both of their superstars in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. But the Clippers have also shown they'll play gritty defense for a full 48 minutes when soldiering on shorthanded, and their head coach, Ty Lue, has coached circles around Pacers head honcho Rick Carlisle this season.

OSB Prediction: LA Clippers (+169)

LA Clippers To beat the Indiana Pacers
Bovada
+169

Spurs Stand Little Chance Against Suns

The Phoenix Suns keep rolling and rolling and rolling. You might think the absence of star center Deandre Ayton or mission-critical wing Jae Crowder would slow them down. It hasn't. They continue to pick apart opponents with an offense that varies in speed and absolutely demolishes opponents in the fourth quarter.

Phoenix's defense has also held up quite nicely despite missing two of their most important defenders Facing the San Antonio Spurs doesn't even register as a challenge at this point. The Spurs are hard-pressed to generate offense in the half-court, and while they have the speedy hands on the perimeter to fluster Chris Paul and Devin Booker, the Suns remain deep enough to make them pay elsewhere.

OSB Prediction: Phoenix Suns (-660)

Phoenix Suns To beat the San Antonio Spurs
Bovada
-660

Take a look at this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can decide which one to use for all your NBA betting:

 

Meet the author

Eric Uribe

Born and raised in Nevada, Eric was exposed to the world of sports betting at an early age. He yearned to be 21 just to hit the sportsbook, and when that day finally came, he became a regular at the smoke-filled room, sweating out bets with sketchy characters. Eric'...

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