The Atlanta Hawks return home after dropping games in Indy and Miami to host the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night at Philips.
The Hawks closed out the month of January on Sunday with a 105-87 loss to the Miami Heat. The team was never actually “in” this game as the Heat took it to them early and the Hawks weren’t able to recover. On Monday, the Hawks return home to the friendly confines of Philips Arena and look to turn the page on what was an abysmal end to January. The Hawks lost five of their last six to close out the month and are a team in search of answers as we get closer to the All-Star break.
The return of Paul Millsap, who sat out the second half in Indy due to an ankle sprain, wasn’t enough for the Hawks in South Beach. Even the absence of Hassan Whiteside on the other bench couldn’t help the Hawks pull out a victory. Sans Whiteside, the Heat outrebounded the Hawks 47 to 31 on the night, which is a stat that is becoming more and more alarming by the day. Al Horford hauled in a whopping four rebounds in 34 minutes of action and Kyle Korver was 0-6 from the field, failing to register a point for the first time all season. The Heat were clearly the better team on both ends of the floor and are now ahead of the Hawks in the East Standings.
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The Mavericks are coming off of a home win on Sunday night against the reeling Suns, a team the Hawks couldn’t put away just over a week ago. The loss was enough for Suns’ management to pull the trigger on relieving Jeff Hornacek of his coaching duties, but I digress. The Mavs have won two straight since a 20 point loss last Wednesday to the Golden State Warriors are currently in the 6th spot in the Western Conference Standings, a game behind Memphis for the 5th spot. Dirk Nowitzki sat out Sunday’s contest with the Suns as Rick Carlisle decided his star forward needed a night to rest. He’ll likely be back on Monday in Atlanta so the Hawks will have their hands full once again.
The two teams met in Dallas back in early December, a win for the Hawks. Paul Millsap led all scorers with 20 points that night while chipping in with 11 rebounds for one of his team leading 16 double doubles. Former Hawk Zaza Pachulia had a double double of his own for the Mavericks hauling in 17 rebounds (what else is new) to go along with 11 points on a night where Dirk struggled to get going.
Key to the Game:
Find an Identity: Last season this team had an identity. Every player on the roster knew what their role was and they fulfilled that role on a nightly basis. This season, with the losses of DMC and Pero Antic, the team seems to have lost that identity that helped them to an undefeated January and the best record in the East. Jeff Teague, although playing better of late, looks lost and disconnected at times on the court. Al Horford has become a stretch five, if there is such a term, and seems to have fallen in love with perimeter jump shots too often. Kyle Korver can’t find his shot half the time and is struggling to get open. All three of those players were key in last season’s run and none of them have looked the same. Kent Bazemore and Paul Millsap have tried to carry this team, but that’s not the way this roster is set up and that’s not the type of schemes that Coach Bud runs. This offense only works when everyone is involved and hitting open shots. This is a new month and time for the team to get back to what they did will a season ago.
Projected Starting Lineups:
Atlanta Hawks
- PG: Jeff Teague
- SG: Kyle Korver
- SF: Kent Bazemore
- PF: Paul Millsap
- C: Al Horford
Notes: No injuries to report
Dallas Mavericks
- PG: Deron Williams
- SG: Wes Matthews
- SF: Chandler Parsons
- PF: Dirk Nowtizki
- C: Zaza Pachulia
Notes: Devin Harris (toe) is questionable for Monday’s game
Other News & Notes:
- The Hawks haven’t lost four in a row in almost two years
- Kyle Korver needs 14 more three’s to pass Chauncey Billups for 8th All-Time
- Zaza Pachulia is averaging a career high 10.8 rebounds per game this season
- Tonight’s game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southeast (TV) and 92.9 The Game (Radio)
Next: Trade Target #4 - Hood, Burke, Booker
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