Hawks vs Bobcats: Game Thread – Starting Lineups, Injury Report, Series Notes, etc.
By David Menze
Kent Smith/NBA/Getty Images
The short-handed Atlanta Hawks head on the road to play divisional foe Charlotte Bobcats and look to sweep the season series with a win tonight at Time Warner Cable Arena.
Atlanta has a laundry list of players on the injury report including both center’s Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia. Horford is still suffering from a sore hamstring and calf muscle, while Pachulia didn’t make the trip to Charlotte due to a sore Achilles. Anthony Morrow will also miss the game because of a sore lower back.
“We just have to go with what we have,” Hawks head coach Larry Drew said. “Ivan will start. (Johan) Petro will be playing minutes tonight. Mike Scott will be playing minutes tonight. Anthony Tolliver will be playing minutes tonight. We are short-handed but we’ll come out and compete.
“This Charlotte team always really pounds the boards, which has always been a big concern of mine when we play this team. So we are going to have to do a good job on the glass.”
The Hawks will tip-off tonight with a starting lineup of Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, DeShawn Stevenson, Josh Smith and Ivan Johnson, who will be making his first ever NBA start.
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Quick Facts
Who?: Atlanta Hawks at Charlotte Bobcats
What?: Southeast Divisional Showdown (Game #42, Road Game #21)
Where?: Time Warner Cable Arena (Charlotte, NC)
When?: Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 – 7:00 PM (ET)
How?: SportSouth HDTV / 680 AM & 93.7 FM
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Projected Starting Lineups
Atlanta Hawks:
PG: Jeff Teague | SG: Kyle Korver | SF: DeShawn Stevenson | PF: Josh Smith | C: Ivan Johnson
Charlotte Bobcats:
PG: Kemba Walker | SG: Gerald Henderson | SF: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | PF: Hakim Warrick | C: Bismack Biyombo
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Injury/Inactive Players Report
Atlanta Hawks: Al Horford (sore hamstring/calf), Zaza Pachulia (Achilles), Anthony Morrow (sore lower back) and Lou Williams (torn ACL, right knee) are all out.
Charlotte Bobcats: Byron Mullens (left ankle sprain) is out.
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Current Records/Streak & Hot, Lukewarm, or Cold
Records: Atlanta Hawks (23-18) … Charlotte Bobcats (10-31)
Streak: Atlanta Hawks –> OVERALL: Won 1 / HOME: Won 1 / ROAD: Lost 6 … Charlotte Bobcats –> OVERALL: Lost 2 / HOME: Lost 15 / ROAD: Won 1
Home/Away Records: Hawks are (9-11) on the road … Bobcats are (5-17) at home.
Atlanta Hawks: Cold. Atlanta snapped a two-game skid with a victory against the Timberwolves on Monday but have lost 8-of-12 games overall since January 1 and will be without third leading scorer Lou Williams for the rest of the season.
Charlotte Bobcats: Ice Cold. The Bobcats haven’t won at home in 15 straight games. Guess who started this slide for Charlotte.. That’s right –> Atlanta!
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Season/Past Season Series
Atlanta travels to Charlotte for the second time this year in the fourth-and-final contest between the clubs. The Hawks are 3-0 this season against the Bobcats, posting a 101-91
win in Charlotte on 11/23 and two wins at Philips Arena – 94-91 on 11/28 and 113-90 on 12/13. Al Horford and Josh Smith have each recorded two double-doubles against the Bobcats, while Jeff Teague has one. Ramon Sessions is averaging 18.7 points in three games versus Atlanta. The Hawks own a seven-game winning streak against the Bobcats, including three straight in Charlotte. The Bobcats last win in the series was a 96-85 home triumph on 4/13/11. Atlanta leads the all-time series 19-16, with Charlotte holding an 11-6 advantage at home.
LAST MEETING — HAWKS 101, BOBCATS 91 — CHARLOTTE, NC — 11/23/12
The Hawks won their fourth straight game with a 101-91 decision at Charlotte. Al Horford led the way with a season-highs of 26 points and 13 rebounds, while tying his career-best with 13 FGM (13-17). Jeff Teague also had a double-double with 13 points and season-high 12 assists, while Kyle Korver scored 16 (4-6 3FGs) and Josh Smith 10. Five Bobcats scored in double-figures led by Ramon Sessions with 22 off the bench. Atlanta shot .538 from the field for the night and hit 11-22 3FGs, helping them overcome 22 turnovers. The Hawks also recorded a season-best 15 blocked shots, with Lou Williams and Devin Harris tying career-highs with three apiece, and Horford (three) and Korver (two) tying season-highs. Atlanta had 50-38 edge in points in the paint and a 24-14 advantage in fast break points.
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Common Threads
Zaza Pachulia was a Bobcat for one day, as they selected him in the 2004 expansion draft on 6/22/04, then traded him to Milwaukee the next day. Bobcats assistant coach Brian Winters is a former Hawks assistant. Devin Harris and DeSagana Diop were teammates with Dallas from 2005-08 before being traded to New Jersey together in 2008. DeShawn Stevenson and Brendan Haywood were teammates with Washington from 2006-10 before being to dealt to Dallas in 2010, where they played together through 2011. Rookies John Jenkins and Jeff Taylor were college teammates at Vanderbilt. Anthony Morrow, Anthony Tolliver and Reggie Williams all played for Golden State in 2009-10.
Information was used from the Hawks and Bobcats official gamenotes