The Atlanta Hawks face their toughest test at home for the season when they take on the Utah Jazz, the team that had the best record in the NBA last season. The Jazz are again looking like a top echelon team so the Hawks will have their work cut out for them anyway.
The problem is that the Hawks are coming home from a loss against the Brooklyn Nets. While it is only a relatively short flight from Brooklyn to Atlanta, it is still taxing on the body. To then have to play a game back to back on a very different floor against a very talented teams.
The Utah Jazz present a problem for most teams on any given night. They have the best defensive pivot in the game in Rudy Gobert. This has an impact on Trae Young‘s ability to drive into the paint meaning that the Hawks offense can splutter a little if he is even slightly off his game.
The Atlanta Hawks need to come out firing against the Utah Jazz
If the Jazz get the jump on the Hawks then it is going to be very hard to come back and win the game. They have a tremendous armada of 3-point shooters, Donovan Mitchell is an incredible offensive player and the second unit will have it’s hands full with Jordan Clarkson and Joe Ingles.
However, looking past the Jazz game, the Hawks are going to head out West for a four-game roadtrip which is not a good thing. They have struggled for a patch in every road game and this has resulted in them have a 1-3 record away from the fortress, State Farm Arena.
The first game of this trip is against last year’s Western Conference champions, the Phoenix Suns. They have also struggled to start the year but are a formidable foe on their home court. Two days later the Hawks play the resurgent Golden State Warriors.
Then they have another back to back, and again they will face the Jazz, this time on their home floor. This contest has the potential to be a blowout. Their final game of the trip is against the Denver Nuggets who are looking to be up the top of the West again this season.
After these next five games the Hawks have a stretch of home games. This ten game stretch could be defining for their season, hopefully they can fix their road issues and move back up the standings where they belong.