| Atlanta Hawks 11-12 Season Game #62 | ||
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| 23-38 | 36-25 | |
| Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia | ||
| April 18, 2012, 7:30 PM | ||
| SportSouth, 680 The Fan and 93.7 FM, NBA Audio League Pass | ||
| Probable starters: | ||
| Brandon Knight | PG | Jeff Teague |
| Rodney Stuckey | SG | Kirk Hinrich |
| Tayshaun Prince | SF | Joe Johnson |
| Jason Maxiell | PF | Josh Smith |
| Greg Monroe | C | Jason Collins |
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Hawks Injury Report: Al Horford (pectoral) and Zaza Pachulia (foot) are out.
Pistons Injury Report: None to report.
More SB Nation Coverage: SB Nation Atlanta, Detroit Bad Boys
Game Preview:
Like all the rest of the five games left in the regular season for the Hawks, this is a must win game.
It's also a should win game. This is the last non-playoff team the Hawks will face in the regular season, and they have to take advantage.
The Hawks are only currently half (.5) a game ahead of the Boston Celtics, and if in fact the Hawks match up with them in the first round, whoever has the better record gets home court. The Hawks' schedule doesn't get any easier after this one, so again, they have to take advantage.
One of the key things to watch out for is the frontcourt play of the Detroit Pistons. Jason Maxiell has hurt the Hawks multiple times this season, the same for Greg Monroe. With Zaza Pachulia and Al Horford nursing injuries right now, I would personally try to limit the amount of touches the Pistons big men get and let the Pistons guards try to beat you. The Hawks have more capable defenders in both guard positions than they do in the PF/C positions.
Current/Past Season Series:
The Pistons will visit Philips Arena to face the Hawks and finish the season series. This will be the fourth and final game between the two. Currently, the Atlanta Hawks lead the season series 2-1. The Hawks split the two games that were played in Detroit and won the one game played so far in Philips Arena.
The Hawks are currently on a 7 game win streak against the Detroit Pistons when it's played in Philips Arena.
Pistons & Hawks Current Records/Streaks:
Away/Home: The Pistons have a 7-24 record on the road, and the Hawks have a 19-9 record at home.
Streaks/Trends: Both the Pistons and the Hawks are on a 1 game overall win streak. The Pistons have also lost 5 out of their last 7 games and 4 out of their last 5 road games. The Hawks have won 9 out of their last 12 home games.
Against .500+ teams: The Pistons post a 7-28 record against teams with winning records. That's the third lowest amount of wins in the entire NBA against teams with winning records.
Against non-winning teams: The Hawks post a 25-5 record against non-winning teams. That's tied for the most amount of wins in the entire NBA against teams with non-winning records.