The Spurs are 18-5 but all five losses have come on the road. San Antonio travels to Atlanta off a home game against the Lakers, and the Hawks will play with a real sense of purpose and determination in this redemption rematch.
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TRAVEL AND SCHEDULING
The Spurs beat the Hawks 108-88 on November 28 in a back-to-back situation traveling home from Denver the night before. But now the Spurs play their fourth game in six days and third on the road between their home game against the Lakers Friday night.
The Hawks return home off back-to-back road games at Dallas and Oklahoma City after beating the Mavericks Wednesday 98-95.Despite allowing 20 offensive rebounds to a Dallas team that was averaging a NBA-low 8.4 offensive boards per game, the Hawks made huge stops down the stretch when needed. That speaks volumes about their defensedespite allowing those offensive boards.
The Spurs are No. 1 in the league in defensive efficiency while the Hawks are tied for the No. 11 ranking. Both teams are top-8 in offensive efficiency and tied for third in effective FG percentage and true shooting percentage.
INJURIES
Kawhi Leonard – the Spurs top scorer returned to the lineup against the Raptors after missing the previous game with an illness. But Leonard did not look himself and didn’t score his first points until 7:12 remained in Toronto’s 97-94 win.
Tiago Splitter – the Hawks backup center and former Spur returned to the lineup after missing the last seven games with a sore hip and played 12 minutes against the Mavericks with four points and three rebounds.
KEY MATCHUP
Gregg Popovich versus Mike Budenholzer and the power forwards.
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer was a long-time coaching disciple of Gregg Popovich and would certainly like to beat his mentor. This is a good spot for the Hawks as they catch the Spurs playing without rest, but check the minutes played of the core players and the result of San Antonio’s game against the Lakers Friday.
The Spurs have really benefitted by the addition of power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who leads the team in rebounds and is No. 2 in scoring at 15 points per game. But Paul Millsap has been superb for the Hawks recording 11 double-doubles this season with Atlanta 9-2 in those games.
He should bounce back well from his season-low 8-points against the Spurs on November 28.
ODDS AND PREDICTION
This will be a very closely-lined contest near pick ‘em. The Hawks have some solid depth to match the Spurs and both teams play at a slower pace. Despite some solid shooting and efficiency, the defenses should make it tough for either team to crack 100 points.
The Hawks have the strength inside and solid point guard play of Jeff Teague to match-up with the Spurs and PG Tony Parker, who had just four points in the loss at Toronto.
Parker and Danny Green were great defensively on Atlanta guards Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver to set the tone in the first meeting, but look for adjustments and stronger defensive play by the Hawks in the NBA rematch.
In the Spurs last four road games, they held the opposition to 80, 92, 83 and 68 points until Toronto scored 97 in victory. The Hawks balanced lineup with strong outside shooting from Kyle Korver along with added depth will help the Hawks end their 12-game losing streak to the Spurs.
Atlanta 98, San Antonio 94
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