Hawks at Bucks, Friday Jan. 4, 8:30 p.m. EST
This January bout marks the first time that Coach Mike Budenholzer will face off against the team that gave him his first head coaching experience.
Coach Bud was awesome during his tenure with the Atlanta Hawks, and it was sad to see him go, even if he didn’t quite agree with the team’s tanking intentions (understandably).
Now with Lloyd Pierce at the helm, this game will be all about the coaching battle between old and new, as well as what will likely be a very strong Bucks team, who will be led by potential MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo, who did this against the aforementioned Wolves in the preseason:
THE STARE DOWN 💀 pic.twitter.com/Ty60TmVSTc
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 13, 2018
Yikes. This should be a good one!
Hawks vs. Magic, Monday Jan. 21, 3:00 p.m. EST
The Magic are expected to be one of the worst teams in the league next year (much like the Hawks), but the team still has some interesting young talent to watch on a daily basis – even if they still lack a point guard.
Mohamed Bamba is a long-limbed alien who seems, like Trae Young, to be a generally awesome guy that’s just excited to play NBA basketball, even if it is on a team with few aspirations going forward.
Beyond that, Jonathan Isaac (who is injury-prone) and SDS favorite Melvin Frazier should provide even more length and athleticism to a Magic team that is even less entertaining than the Hawks, according to Sports Illustrated.
Even still, John Collins going up against Mo Bamba, as well as Trae Young craftily trying to sneak shots past Bamba’s crazy 7-foot-10 wingspan will be extremely enjoyable.
This game is also an afternoon affair on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so this might be a terrific choice to take the whole family to see.