NBA Picks: Suns vs Hawks NBA Odds – January 15, 2010: Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia will be the sight for this interconference matchup between the (24-15) Phoenix Suns [+5] and the sports betting odds favorite (25-13) Atlanta Hawks [-5]. This NBA Picks contest is scheduled to tipoff at 8:10 PM ET (5:10 PM PT) as ESPN will be taking over broadcasting duties. The OVER/UNDER for this Suns vs Hawks January 15, 2010 game is set at a combined total of 216 points.
The Suns come into this affair struggling significantly on the road, as their 9-11 record illustrates. Phoenix has been also unable to protect big leads as of late. "It is alarming for us," Suns’ Grant Hill said. "We have to figure it out, stay together, and try to improve. The only way you get there is as a unit. We're good enough to get up big, but we have to get better at managing those leads."
It has been a recurring theme: Phoenix comes out hot and as the game progresses it seems to sort of run out of steam after halftime. How bad is it? Over their last two games, the Suns have been outscored 129-97 during the third and fourth quarters.
"We've got to find some kind of resolve to come away with a win in these situations," coach Alvin Gentry said. "We gave up 70 points in the second half (Wednesday) and obviously you can't do that. We've got to keep playing and get this worked out. We have to figure out why we have bad stretches. We need to play ourselves out of this situation and I have total confidence we'll do it."
For the hosting Hawks, this team is looking for a third straight win and a fifth in their last six games. Atlanta is currently 15-4 at home, where it scores 108.2 points per game. That’s fourth best in the entire league.
