The Atlanta Hawks matchup with Spurs is another trap-game scenario

A five-game winning streak has done wonders for the Atlanta Hawks (9-9). At the very least, it has helped the perception of them after a slow start had some questioning the validity of their run through last season’s playoffs en route to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Falling to 4-9 by losing six games in a row certainly didn’t dispel the notion.

They have indeed righted the ship and now stand to see their record go over .500 for the first time since they beat the Washington Wizards to move to 4-3 on Nov 1.

Along the way, they have mostly beaten teams and won games they were supposed to, welcoming tired and wounded teams to State Farm Arena appropriately. Now that they are heading out on the road, albeit briefly, they cannot get caught looking ahead.

The Atlanta Hawks need to use matchup with the Spurs to correct their road woes

On Friday, the Hawks will take on a very electrifying Memphis Grizzlies team that is currently seventh in the West and that has won three of its last four games. They are led by Ja Morant who is every bit as exciting and important to his team’s success as Trae Young has proven to be to the Hawks.

Before any of that, however, they must take care of business against the unusually bad San Antonio Spurs. They are heading straight for their third-consecutive losing season, something they have never done in the franchise’s history.

An organization that has existed since the mid-60s hadn’t even missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons until missing last year’s field.

They come into this as game losers of their last five games and six of their last seven.

San Antonio is 15th in scoring 24th offensive rating. They are also 24th in opponent’s scoring and 17th in defensive rating. The defensive rating is an improvement over last season, but the offensive numbers are all down.

This is the classic “trap game” scenario. The Hawks were just at home for an extended period and have been rolling after their slow start, getting back into the thick of a muddled Eastern Conference. Their opponent has been the exact opposite of that.

Atlanta’s next opponent also has a very 2020-21 Hawks-like feel to it, thanks largely to Morant.

The Hawks have also been abysmal on the road this season ranking 21st in points, 22nd in field goal percentage, and 23rd in assists when away from their gym. They’re also 26th in opponent scoring on the road.

There aren’t many softer landing spots to cure what ails than the Spurs right now. But they are still led by a Hall of Famer in Gregg Popovich. They certainly won’t be rolling over. The Hawks need to come out and establish their dominance early on lest they get caught up in battling a much weaker opponent.