| Atlanta Hawks 11-12 Season Game #60 | ||
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| 21-39 | 35-24 | |
| Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia | ||
| April 15, 2012, 6:00 PM | ||
| SportSouth, 680 The Fan and 93.7 FM, NBA Audio League Pass | ||
| Probable starters: | ||
| Ben Uzoh | PG | Jeff Teague |
| DeMar DeRozan | SG | Kirk Hinrich |
| Alan Anderson | SF | Joe Johnson |
| Amir Johnson | PF | Josh Smith |
| Aaron Gray | C | Jason Collins |
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Hawks Injury Report: Al Horford (pectoral), and Zaza Pachulia (foot) are out.
Raptors Injury Report: Andrea Bargnani (calf), Jerryd Bayless (torn left oblique muscle), and Jose Calderon (eye) are out.
More SB Nation Coverage: SB Nation Atlanta, Raptors HQ
Game Preview:
The race for home court advantage in the first round continues for the Atlanta Hawks, as they face the Toronto Raptors tonight in Philips Arena.
The Atlanta Hawks are currently 2.5 games behind the Indiana Pacers and the 3rd seed, and also currently hold only a half a game (.5) lead vs. the Boston Celtics (4th seed). Like every game left for the rest of this regular season, this has playoff standing implications.
This is a must win game really. The Hawks are facing a non-playoff team that has key players out with injuries, so this should be a game that they should win. The Raptors aren't playing for anything anymore, and the Hawks are still playing for better positioning in the playoffs, so there should be no reason for a let down.
Of course, as we've all witnessed before, the Hawks have shown that at times they play down to the level of their competition. The Hawks have matured significantly with this situation this season, but there have still been a couple of instances this season when they have lost games they weren't supposed to. Let's all hope that won't be the case tonight.
Current/Past Season Series:
The Atlanta Hawks are currently 2-0 vs the Toronto Raptors this season, winning one game each on the road and at home.
The Atlanta Hawks currently hold an overall 6 game win streak vs. the Toronto Raptors, and a 7 game win streak when it's played in Philips Arena.
Raptors & Hawks Current Records/Streaks:
Away/Home: The Raptors have a 9-20 record on the road, and the Hawks have a 19-8 record at home.
Streaks: Both the Raptors and Hawks are on a 1 game overall win streak. Raptors are also riding a 2 game losing streak on the road, and the Hawks are on a 3 game win streak at home.
Against .500+ teams: The Raptors post a 10-27 record against teams with winning records.
Against non-winning teams: The Hawks post a 24-4 record against non-winning teams.