Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
A pair of Eastern Conference teams meet in hopes of improving their standing in the playoff picture on the hardwood in the Hoosier State. The Atlanta Hawks are on the road as they make the trip to face the Indiana Pacers Friday night. Atlanta was knocked off 114-105 at home by Milwaukee in their previous game Wednesday night, failing to cover the line as a 4.5-point underdog. Indiana was defeated 119-113 on the road by the Knicks Wednesday night, failing to cover as a five-point underdog in that contest. In the all-time regular season series between the teams, the Hawks own a 107-95 advantage but the Pacers took a 129-114 home win in the first matchup this season on December 27, 2022.
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Atlanta lost for the sixth time in their last eight games as they were unable to prevail at home against Milwaukee Wednesday night. The Hawks entered Thursday 19-22 on the season and stood second in the Southeast Division, 2.5 games behind the Heat for the top spot. They were ninth in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, 3.5 games behind the Knicks for the final guaranteed spot and one game ahead of Toronto to remain on the right side of the cut line. Against Milwaukee, Atlanta trailed 13-0 out of the gate and was down 22 in the opening quarter before reaching the end of the stanza down 39-19. The Hawks trailed by 21 at the half only to storm back to take a 103-101 lead with 3:12 to play before running out of steam. Atlanta gave up a 13-2 run to end the game and wind up with the loss. The Hawks shot 44.8% from the floor, including 11 of 30 from three-point range, and lost the rebounding battle 57-41. Bogdan Bogdanovic led the Hawks with 22 points and five assists in the loss.
The Hawks enter this contest 11th in scoring offense by averaging 115 points per game. Atlanta is 11th in rebounding by collecting 44 boards a night while the team stands 21st by dishing out 24 assists per contest. Atlanta is 21st in the league in scoring defense as they allow opponents to score 116.3 points per game this season. Trae Young leads the team with 27.5 points and 9.8 assists per game this season. John Collins puts up 13.3 points plus 8.1 rebounds a night. De’Andre Hunter chips in 15.5 points a game while Dejounte Murray pours in 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists a night. Clint Capela (12 points, 11.9 rebounds), AJ Griffin, Onyeka Okongwu, Justin Holiday, Jalen Johnson, Aaron Holiday, Frank Kaminsky and Bogdan Bogdanovic (16.7 points) are key rotation pieces for coach Nate McMillan. Atlanta is 19th in the league in field goal percentage by hitting 46.8% of their shots from the floor this season. The Hawks are 30th in threes per game as they hit 10.3 per contest and stand 27th in three-point percentage as they hit 33.2% of their attempts from beyond the arc.
Capela (calf) has missed the last eight games and 12 of the last 14 contests while Young (illness) missed Wednesday’s game against the Bucks. Young practiced Thursday so he seems to be trending in the right direction but watch for updates on their respective statuses before tip-off.
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