| Atlanta Hawks 11-12 Season Game #66 | ||
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| 36-29 | 39-26 | |
| Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia | ||
| April 26, 2012, 8:00 PM | ||
| SportSouth, 680 The Fan and 93.7 FM, NBA Audio League Pass | ||
| Probable starters: | ||
| Rodrigue Beaubois | PG | Jeff Teague |
| Delonte West | SG | Kirk Hinrich |
| Shawn Marion | SF | Joe Johnson |
| Dirk Nowitzki | PF | Josh Smith |
| Brendan Haywood | C | Jason Collins |
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Hawks Injury/Inactive Report: Al Horford (pectoral) i and Zaza Pachulia (foot) are out. Jannero Pargo (back) is doubtful.
Mavericks Injury/Inactive Report: Jason Kidd (resting) is out.
More SB Nation Coverage: SB Nation Atlanta, Mavs Moneyball
Game Preview:
The roller coaster ride of the regular season is officially over tonight for the Atlanta Hawks and the entire NBA, as the Hawks will take the floor for the 66th time this season. The end is near and playoffs are about to begin! Woo hoo!
Hopefully the Hawks won't celebrate too early though, they still have business to take care of tonight. The Hawks still have something to play for, as they have not secured homecourt advantage over the Boston Celtics in the first round yet. A win tonight (or a Celtics loss against the Milwaukee Bucks) will do that though.
The Dallas Mavericks, on the other hand, have very little to play for. They already know they will begin their playoff push on the road, but who they will face is still up in the air. The Mavericks are currently on the 7th seed, and are currently looking at a first round match-up against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Mavericks could move up to the 6th seed and face the Los Angeles Lakers, but that is pretty unlikely. In order for the Mavericks to move up to the 6th seed, they have to win this game and the Denver Nuggets have to lose tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves. In my opinion, I don't see why Dallas would want to move up though. They match-up better (not great, but better) vs. the Thunder than they do vs. the Lakers.
So as it stands, we might not even see Rick Carlisle give his players heavy minutes tonight. Jason Kidd is the only one not suiting up for the Mavericks, but I find it hard to imagine Carlisle relying on his players to play heavy minutes tonight. They just don't have much to play for anymore.
The Hawks have to take care of business tonight, and really try to carry any momentum heading into the post-season. The Hawks have won 4 out of their last 5 games, so they've done well recently, but don't you think winning 5 out of the last 6 games sound so much better?
Current/Past Season Series:
The Mavericks and Hawks will face off for the first and last time this season (unless they somehow meet in the NBA Finals).
The Mavericks swept last season series, 2-0. The Mavericks have also won the last three overall games.
The Hawks' last win in Philips Arena when facing the Dallas Mavericks was on March 19, 2009.
Mavericks & Hawks Current Records/Streaks:
Away/Home: The Mavericks are 13-19 on the road, and the Hawks have a 22-10 record at home. The Clippers have lost 3 straight games on the road.
Streaks/Trends: The Mavs are on a 1 game losing streak, and the Hawks are on a 1 game win streak. The Hawks have also won 9 out of their last 12 games.
Against .500+ Teams: The Mavericks post a 22-21 record against teams with winning records, while the Hawks only post a 13-21 record.
Against Non-Conference Teams: The Mavericks are 10-7 against Eastern Conference teams, while the Hawks are 8-9 against Western Conference teams.
Quick Hits:
- Marvin Williams is one FGM away from having 2000 NBA FGM.
- This will be Josh Smith's 600th game in an Atlanta Hawks uniform. He is currently #10 in the Hawks' all-time list for most games played. He's also the only current active Hawk in the top 10.
- One famiy tie in both benches tonight. Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady are cousins.
- If the Hawks win tonight, they will be the 9th team this season to reach the 40 win mark.