The Atlanta Hawks (25-28) might finally be catching somewhat of a break with a get-right opportunity against the Indiana Pacers who have already begun selling off their pieces. Indy traded away guard Caris LeVert to the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers for Ricky Rubio and a bevy of draft picks.
They come into State Farm Arena losers of their last three, including their first without LeVert, and seven of their last nine. They’re also 6-21 on the road and are not considered to be finished moving off of some pieces.
Atlanta, meanwhile, is 15-12 at home but has won eight of their last 10 in their home gym.
Trade rumors have swirled around them as well but Travis Schlenk essentially confirmed reports they were less pressed to make a move saying he feels good about the way the team is playing.
The current Atlanta Hawks got a vote of confidence ahead of a get-right opportunity vs IND
Appearing on 92.9 The Game, Schlenk, who has been very vocal on the team’s performance this season, continued on to say, “We’ll continue to talk to other teams and see if there’s something out there that makes sense for us. As we sit here today, I don’t see that. But you never know what will happen in the next 48 hours.”
That is in quite the contrast to his remarks from just over a month ago when he appeared on the same airwaves questioning the ceiling and longevity of this same core.
This matchup with Indy could go a long way to solidifying this current iteration as the one that will try to finish the season turnaround. Whether that should be the case is another topic altogether. But the Hawks have a chance to win big on Tuesday.
Indiana is 18th in scoring this season but 23rd on the road. They are also 23rd in three-point shooting percentage shooting just 33.3 percent which should sound like music after the way the Hawks have defended the perimeter the last two outings. The Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks shot 52.4 percent from deep.
The latter wasted a stellar 22-point, 18-rebound game from John Collins, who had been the subject of many trade rumors himself.
Atlanta is still slightly out-rebounding opposing teams on the season.
But the other side has had the edge on the glass going back to the start of the Hawks seven-game win streak and the Pacers in particular are the better rebounding team this season.
Nate McMillan thinks the Hawks could have attacked more inside. pic.twitter.com/F4iRpUMt5C
— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) February 7, 2022
Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner have a lot to do with that normally.
But Turner has been out with a fractured foot since Jan 17; coincidentally when the Hawks streak began. Sabonis has only appeared in five games during that span averaging 18.6 points on 61.7 percent shooting (42.9% 3P) with 13.4 boards and 7.8 assists.
Indiana has gone 2-3 with Sabonis and 4-8 overall in that time while their opponents have averaged a league-high 120.4 points per game.
The Hawks won the first meeting between these two teams 114-111 in what was their first win after having their first seven-game winning streak snapped. They got 33 points out of Trae Young in that game while Collins added 14 points. Kevin Huerter had 19 points in that game while Lou Williams and Delon Wright both had double-figures.
Atlanta is, or at least was, playing even better of late than they were then.
Clint Capela was his usual quiet offensive self in that one. But Danilo Gallinari hadn’t quite hit his stride while the since-traded LeVert had six points on 25.0 percent shooting.
At the same time, a loss to a team like this could change Schlenk’s tune at the least and, at the worst, be devastating to waning fan morale and throw a team that has already endured so much chaos into another dark spell.