Soaring Down South
Fansided

The Atlanta Hawks expect all hands on deck for “dress rehearsal” vs Heat

By Joshua Buckhalter

MIAMI, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 04: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks dribbles the ball up the court against the Miami Heat during the preseason game at FTX Arena on October 04, 2021 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2021 NBAE (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 04: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks dribbles the ball up the court against the Miami Heat during the preseason game at FTX Arena on October 04, 2021 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2021 NBAE (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Atlanta Hawks will close out the preseason against the Miami Heat on Thursday. At 1-2, a win would be a very nice way to end the exhibition period. It’s always good to roll into the regular season with whatever momentum possible. Especially when most of the Hawks preseason has been filled with injury and some inconsistency on the court.

At least one of those things is set to change as Head Coach Nate McMillan said they “pretty much had everyone” practice on Tuesday.

With the tilt against the division rival Heat, this one could get a little interesting.

The Atlanta Hawks expect to be most healthy for “dress rehearsal” in rematch with Heat

These two opened the preseason against each other in a contest the Heat won in a route. The only saving grace following the 125-99 defeat is that it was in fact the preseason opener. No one really had a good game as they shot 40 percent from the floor and 23.7 percent from beyond the arc as a team.

Trae Young, who had 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting, wound up leaving that game late with a quad contusion. He should make his return in this one.

Atlanta went into that game missing Clint Capela, Kevin Huerter, and De’Andre Hunter. Now, they apparently expect to have all but (probably) Capela who is still eyeing a return for the regular-season opener in a week.

Miami is currently a perfect 4-0, rank sixth in field goal percentage, and 10th in preseason scoring during the preseason.

Related Story. Trae Young’s passing numbers continue to amaze. light

Last season, though, it was the Hawks who had the upper hand in the regular-season series, winning two of their three meetings. They outscored the Heat by an average of 103.7 points to 97.3 points per game. Atlanta, led by 2021 rebounding champ Clint Capela, also had an 11-rebound advantage on average against Miami.

Adding Kyle Lowry has had many analysts salivating at their potential. But placing the Heat above the Hawks in those ranking may yet prove to be premature. As it stands, though, the Heat certainly looked like a different animal in their first meeting.

The hope is that aside from not letting Tyler Herro go nuclear on them, being further along into the preseason at least makes this a closer and more entertaining game.

Having Hunter and Huerter back for this one should help with the Herro problem as well.

Next. Ben Simmons, Kyrie Irving situations cloud East’s outlook. dark

In the end, this will still be just another preseason game. But the Hawks are clearly putting a little extra emphasis on it. Miami always gives maximum effort too so it should be exciting. Hopefully, the Hawks come away with a win and finish off the preseason on a good note.

Home/Hawks News