The Atlanta Hawks travel to Orlando Sunday afternoon to take on the Magic, looking to keep their undefeated record in the month of February in tact and push their winning streak to four straight.
Today marks the last meaningful football game until August. Once the Super Bowl ends, both college and professional basketball will be in the lime light for the next five months. And on a day when most of the country will have their sights set on what happens in Santa Clara this evening, your Atlanta Hawks have a one o’clock tip off with the Magic in Orlando. Most of your NBA games will have an earlier start today because of the Super Bowl and the Hawks are no different.
The Hawks are riding high in the month of February after finishing off January in a polar opposite fashion from the way they finished that same month last season. After the team’s home win against the Pacers on Friday evening, the team is now a perfect 3-0 to start the month and has used that streak to get back into the top half of the Eastern Conference. And while the Hawk bench has carried this team the past few games, the starters put away the Pacers on Friday. Al Horford and Paul Millsap combined for 45 points and Kent Bazemore had 8 assists. The only starter to not reach double figures was Kyle Korver. The Hawks used a different approach and decided to let Paul George have a night while shutting down the rest of the team. The team had held him in check the first two matchups of the season and the Pacers were 2-0.
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The Magic, on the other hand, have lost three straight to begin the month and have lost 11 of 12 overall. For a team that started out the season so well, the last two months have been a big disappointment for this team that was supposed to take a big step forward this season as their young talent developed and started clicking. But as it stands, the Magic look to be lottery bound once again unless they make a splash during the trade deadline and bring in the sort of veteran presence that this young group needs. The Magic played on Friday night at home against the Clippers and down by double digits virtually the entire game. Tobias Harris, Evan Fournier, Nikola Vucevic and Victor Oladipo all scored in double figures but no one else showed up for the Magic as the Clippers took them down 107-93.
These two teams last met on MLK day in Atlanta, a game that the Hawks won by 17. The Hawks are 2-0 against the Magic this season and will face them again on Monday on the second night of a back to back/home and home series. If the Hawks are able to sweep both games and get to 10 games above .500 before going to Chicago to play the Bulls before the All-Star break, you might see this team make a move or two to improve the roster down the stretch as you’d have to believe that they would feel that they were in a good position to get back to the East Finals, especially with Jimmy Butler potentially missing time due to a knee injury.
Key to the Game:
Keep Vucevic off the Glass: Nikola Vucevic is one of the better young big men in the game. He’s a relentless rebounder and a guy that the Hawks typically have trouble with. He hasn’t been his usual self so far this season, but the Magic as a whole have disappointed lately. The Pacers outrebounded the Hawks on Friday, in what is business as usual for this Hawks team, but as our fan base knows all too well, you won’t get far in the playoffs if you can’t control the glass. The next two games will be key for the Hawks as they try and keep the Magic off the glass. If they can keep the rebounding margin somewhat close, then the Hawks should come out of Orlando with a win.
Projected Starting Lineups:
Atlanta Hawks
- PG: Jeff Teague
- SG: Kyle Korver
- SF: Kent Bazemore
- PF: Paul Millsap
- C: Al Horford
Notes: Tiago Splitter (hip) will miss his fourth straight game
Orlando Magic
- PG: Elfrid Payton
- SG: Victor Oladipo
- SF: Tobias Harris
- PF: Aaron Gordon
- C: Nikola Vucevic
Notes: Tobias Harris (eye) is listed as probably and is expected to play
Other News & Notes:
- Today’s start time is an odd 1:00 PM EST tip off due to the Super Bowl
- Jeff Teague has now reached double figures in 7 straight games, following a stretch where he failed to do so in 4 of his previous 7
- Korver Watch: Kyle needs just 7 three pointers to pass Chauncey Billups for 8th on the All-Time list
- Tonight’s game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southeast (TV) and 92.9 The Game (Radio)
Next: Paul Millsap: An All-Star Odyssey
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