Atlanta Hawks Game Preview: April 2nd at Brooklyn Nets

The Atlanta Hawks return to the court Sunday afternoon to take on the Brooklyn Nets. Can they exact revenge for last Sunday’s disappointing loss?

The Atlanta Hawks still find themselves in a rather precarious position. Back-to-back wins earlier in the week saved them from a devastating collapse, but Saturday’s blown opportunity against the Chicago Bulls has fans feeling uneasy.

The Hawks blew a late lead and allowed the Bulls to secure a 106-104 win. Dennis Schroder‘s turnover with 25 seconds left gave Jimmy Butler the chance to play hero. Butler would sink two free-throws with less than three seconds remaining in the game to give the Bulls a two-point cushion. On the final possession of the game, Tim Hardaway Jr. would miss a jumper that would have won the game for Atlanta.

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Due to the loss, Atlanta slipped to sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings. They’re now a single game behind the Milwaukee Bucks for fifth place and two games ahead of the Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons, and Indiana Pacers who are tied for seventh place.

Due to tiebreakers, the Pacers are in ninth place. That’s right, the Hawks are just two games from falling out of the playoff race. Atlanta has a difficult closing schedule that features two games against the Cleveland Cavaliers, a game against the Boston Celtics, a game against the aforementioned Pacers, and a game against the feisty Charlotte Hornets.

They need to take advantage anytime their schedule provides them a winnable game. Sunday evening it does just that. Atlanta faces the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, the team with the worst record in the NBA.

Brooklyn has a 17-59 record, but they are better than their record shows. Injuries have kept Jeremy Lin out of the lineup for most season. With Lin in the fold, the Nets are a real NBA team capable of knocking off anyone.

The Hawks learned that the hard way last week. The Nets came into Atlanta last Sunday and handed the Hawks a 107-92 loss. At the time, it was Atlanta’s seventh loss in a row. Brook Lopez led the way for Brooklyn, pouring in 23 points on 7-for-17 shooting and 2-for-4 from three-point range.

Lin scored 19 points and dished out eight assists. Brooklyn’s bench combined for 46 points. Overall the Nets shot 44.2 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from three-point range. The Hawks were never able to crawl all the way back from the 12-point lead Brooklyn had built through one quarter.

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The Hawks had a putrid offensive performance. They shot 34.7 percent from the field and 18.5 percent from deep. They also committed 20 turnovers. Dennis Schroder finished with 24 points and eight assists on 10-for-24 shooting. Taurean Prince had a breakout performance, scoring 17 points and grabbing seven rebounds on 5-for-13 shooting.

Atlanta’s bench was lackluster to say the least, especially when compared to Brooklyn’s reserves. Kris Humphries, Mike Muscala, DeAndre’ Bembry, Jose Calderon, Malcolm Delaney, and Mike Dunleavy Jr. combined to score just seven points.

The Hawks have won the other two meetings between Brooklyn and Atlanta this season. One win came in a tight battle, while the other came in a blowout. Sunday, they’ll decide the season series. Not that the head-to-head tiebreaker matters in the grand scheme of things. These teams won’t be tied in the standings when the curtain closes on the regular season. The Hawks just desperately need a win.

It appears that the Hawks will be without Paul Millsap once again. Millsap has missed eight consecutive games with left knee synovitis. The Hawks are 2-6 during that span and 2-9 this season without Millsap. He’s currently listed as questionable.

With three days off after the game against Brooklyn, it might make sense to allow Millsap more time to heal. Rushing him back could do more harm than good. They can beat the Nets without Millsap. Beating their next few opponents won’t be achievable without the anchorman.

Atlanta should be able to exercise the demons of one week ago. It won’t be easy given their limited roster, but I expect that they’ll win close. That would put them in a good position heading into the final two weeks of the season.

Another loss would be reason to panic. If they can’t beat the Nets, they don’t stand a chance against the Celtics and Cavaliers. The playoffs are almost here. Hopefully those playoffs include the Atlanta Hawks for the 10th consecutive season.

Next: Ranking Possible First Round Opponents

Who: Atlanta Hawks (39-37) @ Brooklyn Nets (17-59)

When: 6:00 PM EST, Sunday, April 2nd, 2017

Where: Barclays Center

How: Fox Sports Southeast

Prediction: Hawks 103 Nets 100

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