Atlanta Hawks Game Preview: Final Game vs. Magic
By Chris Guest
A quick preview of the Atlanta Hawks final matchup against the Orlando Magic tonight.
For the fourth and final time this season, the Atlanta Hawks will face off against their Southeast Division rival, the Orlando Magic.
The Magic will be going for the season sweep on the Hawks this year, as Atlanta has had a tough time facing off against the brilliant play of Nikola Vucevic as well as the athleticism of Jonathan Isaac and Aaron Gordon and surprising scoring outbursts from Evan Fournier and others.
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Last time these two teams faced off in mid-March, the Atlanta Hawks had a relatively tough time of it on offense – only scoring 91 points on 41.8 percent shooting from the field and 22.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Only 4 Hawks players scored in double figures (with only 2 players managing more than 10 points, Trae Young and Alex Len).
John Collins fouled out in only 20 minutes and only managed 10 points and 7 rebounds against the brilliant play of Vucevic. Vooch had yet another terrific game against the Hawks, with 27 points, 20 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in 34 minutes. He hit all 7 of his free throws and was +6 in on/off rating.
The Magic are in the throes of a contentious Eastern Conference playoff race, and they secured a huge win last night as the Miami Heat lost, which means that if the season ended today, Orlando would be in the playoffs as the #8 seed.
Currently, teams #6 through 9 are bunched together with only one game separating them. There are only a handful of games left in the regular season, so the Magic will likely be looking to crush the Hawks on the team’s home floor in order to better set themselves up at the bottom of the standings. To their credit, no team in the East has a better record over their last 10 games than the Magic do at 8-2.
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This game tips off at 7:00 p.m. EST.