Kyrie Irving return gives Brooklyn Nets an NBA odds edge over Atlanta Hawks

For the first time since Nov. 14, the Brooklyn Nets are likely to have Kyrie Irving available. Take the Nets as 7½-point favorites over the Hawks.

The Brooklyn Nets haven’t fared terribly without star free-agent acquisition Kyrie Irving, going 13-13 straight up in the 26 games Irving has missed with a right shoulder impingement. Listed as probable for Sunday, the Nets figure to get an emotional boost from having Irving back on the court. This, in turn, makes Brooklyn the NBA odds pick for Sunday.

As of this writing, the Nets are favored by 7½ points over the visiting Atlanta Hawks, according to information provided courtesy of The Action Network. Atlanta has lost three in a row, with both Trae Young (hamstring) and De’Andre Hunter (foot) game-time decisions.

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The one dynamic that will be interesting to see is how Spencer Dinwiddie adapts to having Irving back in the rotation. Dinwiddie started all 26 games in Irving’s stead and put up career numbers of 24.8 points and 7.2 assists per game.

It’s uncertain whether Irving will start or come off the bench or whether he will face a minutes restriction (it’s likely because that is standard procedure for the Nets when dealing with players who have been out long-term), but Brooklyn should get a boost, particularly coming off an important win Friday over the Heat — a win that broke a seven-game losing streak.

Atlanta is 4-2 against the spread in its last six games, while losing 14 of 16 straight up, but are just 1-6 ATS in their last seven against the Nets — all straight-up losses. Brooklyn has won and covered in each of the first two meetings this season, taking a 130-118 win at Atlanta on Dec. 4 at minus-3 and winning 122-112 at Brooklyn on Dec. 21 as a minus-7½ pick.

The Nets haven’t been going great guns, going 1-7 ATS over the last eight games, but they are 10-5 ATS in their last 15 games at Barclays Center.

Atlanta Hawks at Brooklyn Nets

TV: Fox Sports Southeast-Atlanta (Hawks), YES (Nets)
Tickets: Barclays Center, 6 p.m. local (6 p.m. Eastern)
Records: Atlanta 8-31 (17-22 ATS, 7-14 road ATS), Brooklyn 17-20 (17-20 ATS, 10-8 home ATS)

Availability report (as of 8:30 p.m. on Saturday)
Atlanta: OUT–Bruno Fernando (personal), Jabari Parker (right shoulder impingement); QUESTIONABLE–De’Andre Hunter (right foot pain), Trae Young (left hamstring pain); PROBABLE–Alex Len (right knee strain).
Brooklyn: OUT–Chris Chiozza (two-way, G League), Kevin Durant (right Achilles rehab); QUESTIONABLE–Wilson Chandler (left hamstring tightness), Garrett Temple (right knee contusion); PROBABLE–Kyrie Irving (right shoulder impingement).

The rest of Sunday’s seven-game schedule is detailed below.

Miami Heat at New York Knicks

TV: Fox Sports Sun (Heat), MSG (Knicks)
Tickets: Madison Square Garden, 3:30 p.m. local (3:30 p.m. Eastern)
Records: Miami 27-11 (22-15-1 ATS, 9-10-1 road ATS), New York 10-29 (19-20 ATS, 8-10 home ATS)

Availability report
Miami: OUT–KZ Okpala (G League), Gabe Vincent (two-way, G League), Justise Winslow (lower back, bone bruise).
New York: OUT–Ignas Brazdeikis (G League), Ivan Rabb (two-way, G League); QUESTIONABLE–Marcus Morris (sore neck); PROBABLE–Reggie Bullock (contused left thigh), Frank Ntilikina (sore groin), Julius Randle (personal), Mitchell Robinson (left greater toe sprain).

Notable: The Miami Heat look for a Gotham split after losing at Brooklyn on Friday, having gone just 3-6 ATS over their last nine games and covering only once in their last four games away from home. The New York Knicks have hit another rough patch — five straight losses and a 1-4 ATS record over that span, with the last three defeats by 12 points or more.

The Heat won their first time around at New York, taking a 129-114 victory and covering a nine-point spread on Dec. 20. The Knicks are just 1-3 ATS in their last four games at home and are 0-3 straight up and ATS in their last three matchups with Miami. The Heat, conversely, have covered five of their last six games against the Knicks.

Utah Jazz at Washington Wizards

TV: AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Jazz), NBC Sports Washington (Wizards)
Tickets: Capital One Arena, 3:30 p.m. local (3:30 p.m. Eastern)
Records: Utah 26-12 (20-18 ATS, 10-10 road ATS), Washington 13-25 (19-18-1 ATS, 9-9 home ATS)

Availability report
Utah: OUT–Jarrell Brantley (two-way, G League), Mike Conley (left hamstring strain), Miye Oni (G League), Nigel Williams-Goss (G League).
Washington: OUT–Rui Hachimura (groin), Garrison Mathews (sprained right ankle), C.J. Miles (left wrist surgery), Moritz Wagner (sprained left ankle), John Wall (left Achilles rehab); QUESTIONABLE–Bradley Beal (lower right leg soreness), Thomas Bryant (stress reaction, right foot).

Notable: The Washington Wizards have gathered some nice pelts at home recently, taking down the Heat, Nuggets and Celtics in the last 13 days. But they face a Utah Jazz team that has been on absolute fire, winning eight in a row and going 8-1 ATS over its last nine games. Utah is 4-1-1 ATS in its last six road games, while the Wizards have four covers in their last six at home.

This is the first of the two meetings between the Jazz and Washington this season, with Utah winning the last seven matchups outright and going 6-1 ATS. The Wizards have not been golden at home against teams from the West, going 1-5 ATS in their last six such games. Washington could get Bradley Beal and/or Thomas Bryant back Sunday; both are listed as questionable.

San Antonio Spurs at Toronto Raptors

TV: Fox Sports Southwest-San Antonio (Spurs), SportsNet1 (Raptors)
Tickets: Scotiabank Arena, 6 p.m. local (6 p.m. Eastern)
Records: San Antonio 16-21 (14-22-1 ATS, 8-8-1 road ATS), Toronto 25-13 (19-17-1 ATS, 11-8 home ATS)

Availability report
San Antonio: OUT–Keldon Johnson (G League), Chimezie Metu (G League), Luka Samanic (G League), Quinndary Weatherspoon (two-way, G League).
Toronto: OUT–Dewan Hernandez (right ankle sprain), Shamorie Ponds (two-way, G League), Fred VanVleet (right hamstring strain); QUESTIONABLE–Marc Gasol (left hamstring strain), Pascal Siakam (groin strain); PROBABLE–Norman Powell (left shoulder subluxation).

Notable: The Toronto Raptors are closer to getting back to full strength, with Norman Powell likely to be back Sunday and Marc Gasol and Pascal Siakam game-time decisions. The Raptors are just 2-4 ATS in their last six games and have covered only two of their last five games at home. The San Antonio Spurs are 8-4 ATS in their last 12, and 4-1 ATS in their last five road games.

This is the second DeMar DeRozan homecoming game in Toronto, so there will be a buzz in the crowd. The Raptors won and San Antonio covered on Feb. 22, the first time DeRozan was back in Canada as a visitor. Toronto was favored by eight and won 120-117. San Antonio comes in off a loss at Memphis after wins over both the Bucks and Boston.

Golden State Warriors at Memphis Grizzlies

TV: NBC Sports Bay Area (Warriors), Fox Sports Southeast-Memphis (Grizzlies)
Tickets: FedExForum, 5 p.m. local (6 p.m. Eastern)
Records: Golden State 9-31 (19-20-1 ATS, 10-11 road ATS), Memphis 17-22 (20-18-1 ATS, 11-10 home ATS)

Availability report
Golden State: OUT–Ky Bowman (two-way, G League), Stephen Curry (left hand fracture), Damion Lee (two-way, G League), Kevon Looney (left abdominal strain), Klay Thompson (left ACL rehabilitation); PROBABLE–D’Angelo Russell (right shoulder contusion).
Memphis: OUT–Andre Iguodala (not with team), Josh Jackson (G League), John Konchar (two-way, G League), Yuta Watanabe (two-way, G League).

Notable: Two teams moving in diametrically opposite directions collide here, with the Golden State Warriors coming in on a seven-game losing streak and the Memphis Grizzlies having won four in a row and five of their last six. The Warriors are 3-4 ATS during their skid, but Memphis is 5-1 ATS over its six-game hot stretch.

Golden State hammered the Grizzlies the first time they came to Memphis, with a 114-95 victory as 6½-point underdogs on Nov. 19. The Grizzlies were three-point underdogs at San Francisco on Dec. 9 before coming away with a 110-102 win. Memphis, taking a longer view, is 7-2-1 ATS over its last 10 games and has moved into eighth place in the West.

LA Clippers at Denver Nuggets

TV: Fox Sports Prime Ticket (Clippers), Altitude Sports (Nuggets)
Tickets: Pepsi Center, 6 p.m. local (8 p.m. Eastern)
Records: LA 27-12 (20-18 ATS, 9-9 road ATS), Denver 26-12 (16-19-3 ATS, 7-11-2 home ATS)

Availability report
LA: OUT–Amir Coffey (two-way, G League), Paul George (left hamstring strain), Mfiondu Kabengele (G League), Johnathan Motley (two-way, G League); QUESTIONABLE–JaMychal Green (right knee contusion).
Denver: Not required to submit report until 3 p.m. on Sunday. In Saturday’s 111-103 loss to the Cavaliers, Denver did not have Bol Bol (left foot injury management), PJ Dozier (two-way, G League), Paul Millsap (left knee contusion/sprain) or Jarred Vanderbilt (G League).

Notable: The Denver Nuggets took one of those inexplicable losses teams have over the course of 82 games, losing at home Saturday night to the lowly Cavaliers, and will be right back at it Sunday. The problem for the Nuggets is that It was their sixth loss against teams with 15 or fewer victories, with three of those coming at Pepsi Center.

The LA Clippers are only 2-4 ATS over their last six games and, in a case of conflicting data points, are 1-4 ATS in their last five against Denver and 7-2 ATS in their last nine on the road. This will be the first meeting of the season between the teams, with the Clippers second in the Western Conference and the Nuggets in a three-way pileup with Houston and Utah for third.

Charlotte Hornets at Phoenix Suns

TV: Fox Sports Southeast-Charlotte (Hornets), Fox Sports Arizona (Suns)
Tickets: Talking Stick Resort Arena, 6 p.m. local (8 p.m. Eastern)
Records: Charlotte 15-26 (19-21-1 ATS, 10-10-1 road ATS), Phoenix 15-23 (20-17-1 ATS, 10-11-1 home ATS)

Availability report
Charlotte: OUT–Robert Franks (two-way, G League), Caleb Martin (G League), Jalen McDaniels (G League), Kobi Simmons (two-way, G League).
Phoenix: OUT–Jared Harper (two-way, G League), Frank Kaminsky (right patella, stress fracture).

Notable: Neither of these teams has been firing on all cylinder recently, with the Phoenix Suns 2-3 ATS in their last five games and the Charlotte Hornets 3-6 ATS in their last nine contests. Furthering the trends, the Hornets are 2-3 ATS in their last five road games, but Phoenix is 2-4 ATS in its last six games at home.

The Suns picked up a road win in the first meeting, taking a 109-104 decision as four-point favorites at Charlotte on Dec. 2. But Phoenix has been positively awful at Talking Stick Resort Arena for awhile now, going 3-11 at home in their last 14 games after winning five of its first eight there.