Betting tips / Matthew Reid / 18 January 2012 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

Matt Reid can't help but rue injuries to key players when looking at the Portland-Atlanta match-up.

Both the Hawks and the Blazers have had more than their fair share and a low-scoring contest is on the cards.

Unfortunately for fans of both teams, names like Roy, Horford, Oden and Hinrich are missing from this match and all those players would be starting if healthy.

With these players missing for the majority or even possibly the entire season, it would be surprising to see either side go deep into the playoffs.

However, they have both exceeded expectations so far.

The Blazers have an 8-5 record and the match at Atlanta will be game four of six in a row on the road. After dropping their first couple of the trip they bounced back with a seven-point win over the struggling Hornets.

Shooting has been a problem recently for the Blazers, with guards Jamal Crawford and Raymond Felton laying bricks at a rapid rate. Both players have been streaky shooters over their career, but they will need to score more consistently for the Blazers to be successful.

Forward LaMarcus Aldridge has been outstanding so far and look for him to make his first All-Star appearance this year. I'd expect another strong game from Aldridge with Al Horford missing from the Hawks line-up. Atlanta has coped with loss of Horford quite well, winning their past three matches, which were all at home. As expected the Hawks have relied on Josh Smith and Joe Johnson to carry the scoring load. This hasn't been a problem against teams the calibre of Toronto, Minnesota and Charlotte, but will certainly be an issue against the better teams and in particular this match against Portland. The Blazers' wings of Gerald Wallace and Nicholas Batum are a good match-up for Smith and Johnson, which will force the Hawks to look to other avenues for their offense.

Atlanta has beaten the Blazers the last five times these teams have played but also of interest is that the totals in these games have been 173, 173, 194, 188 and 178.

Defence traditionally plays a big role in contests between these two, and with both sides down on manpower I cannot see this being any different.

I anticipate the Total Match Points line being in the mid 180's and the under is the play at this total.

The Hawks are just ahead in match odds betting.