Portland Trail Blazers at Atlanta Hawks (-4, 187)

Two seasons ago, both the Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers were 50-loss teams riding lengthy playoff droughts. Now, they're two of the NBA's emerging young contenders, and both will be looking to improve their postseason positioning when they meet Sunday afternoon in Atlanta.
The Hawks (38-28) enter Sunday's matchup having won four straight to start a seven-game homestand, including victories over Western Conference contenders New Orleans and Utah. Joe Johnson's 30-point effort keyed Friday night's 101-87 win over Indiana as the Hawks played a third straight game without forward Marvin Williams. It's unclear how long a strained lower back will sideline Williams, who's averaging 14.0 points and 6.4 rebounds. "We've all got to pick up our play, definitely," said Johnson, who has scored at least 30 points in each of the three games without Williams after failing to reach 20 in any of his previous four. "I'm trying to be the first one," he added. "At least jump-start us." The Hawks also have played superior defense in their last four games, with opponents averaging 85.5 points and shooting 41.8 percent from the field.

Pick: Atlanta -4


Boston Celtics at Milwaukee Bucks (+6.5, 198.5)

The Bucks (30-38) know all about playing short-handed as they continue to chase a playoff berth without leading scorer Michael Redd and former No. 1 overall draft pick Andrew Bogut. Milwaukee is one of six teams chasing the East's eighth spot. But the injuries could be starting to catch up with the Bucks, who've lost five of their last six and nine of 12. Their last two defeats have come at home, where they fell 95-86 to New Orleans on Friday night despite getting 27 points from Richard Jefferson. With Boston, Orlando and Portland also set to visit the Bradley Center to finish their six-game homestand, the Bucks will likely need to improve their play if they hope to stay in the race. "If we're really going to hit a stride where we are really playing our best basketball - with the way our team is right now - we need four, five, or six guys playing well on a given night," coach Scott Skiles said. "Two guys is not good enough. We are probably not going to win. We need multiple players playing well on both ends of the floor." Playing without Redd and Charlie Villanueva, the Bucks forced overtime in the Celtics' previous visit Nov. 15, but they still lost their sixth straight to Boston, 102-97.

Picks: Celtics -6.5