A game preview of the Atlanta Hawks’ final game in their West Coast trip against the Phoenix Suns tonight.
On the second night of a back-to-back, the Atlanta Hawks will face off tonight against the Phoenix Suns. This marks the first time these two teams will meet this season, and the first of two in February.
The Suns currently hold one of the worst records in the league at 11-42. While that is not technically the worst record, which is held by the Knicks at 10-40, it must be noted that the Suns are already 2 losses clear of New York in that department in the race for Zion Williamson.
If the Suns were to land Williamson with the #1 overall pick, it would be the second straight time Phoenix has won the lottery after taking DeAndre Ayton #1 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, which was generally quite kind to the Suns.
Beyond Ayton, who was as NBA-ready on offense as any recent big man draft prospect (defense still a work-in-progress), the Suns added #10 overall pick (and SDS favorite) Mikal Bridges, a polished three-and-D wing with a pure shooting stroke (and college teammate of Omari Spellman), #31 overall pick Elie Okobo, a high-upside French point guard prospect and second round pick De’Anthony Melton – a stellar athlete who is playing 20 minutes a night for Phoenix this year.
For the Atlanta Hawks, this will be the first time their young guns of Trae Young, John Collins and Kevin Huerter will face off against the Phoenix youth movement, so it will be fun to see how these two up-and-coming rosters perform against one another.
In terms of the tanking “race,” the Suns seem to be in far better position heading into this game, but the NBA is wild (as the Kristaps Porzingis trade made clear), so who knows who will take this game.
Tip-off for this game is slated for 9:00 p.m. EST.