It was a rough weekend for the Atlanta Hawks. Things began with a tantalizing defeat at the hands of the reigning champs and Sunday afternoon’s late flop against the Indiana Pacers wasn’t ideal. With that as the backdrop, the Hawks have (very) little break before participating in what is the most difficult home game of the season on paper.

The Golden State Warriors are in town.

Yes, the Warriors did not win the NBA title a year ago (hello, LeBron) and Golden State isn’t at full strength with the injury to Kevin Durant. Still, the reigning West champs feature Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson (to go along with Zaza Pachulia) and that is the recipe for the visitors entering the night as a sizable Las Vegas favorite to upend the Hawks.

Both teams are on the second of a back-to-back but it should be noted that each previous game took place in the afternoon and only Golden State faced travel in the aftermath. In terms of match-up, the Warriors present a myriad of issues, including the fact that Curry is a nightmare for almost anyone defensively. It will be interesting to see what kind of rotations are deployed by Mike Budenholzer, especially in light of a recent shift toward small-ball, but look for Thabo Sefolosha potentially chasing Klay Thompson and the possibility of Kent Bazemore seeing a steady diet of Curry with some help from Dennis Schröder.

There is a bit of extra emphasis whenever the Warriors arrive at Philips Arena and that rings true this evening. On the bright side, Atlanta has played “up” to its competition throughout the season and that provides a basis for optimism in this match-up. Stay tuned throughout the day for additional updates.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Monday, March 6, 7:30 p.m. ET

Location: Philips Arena

TV: Fox Sports Southeast, NBA League Pass

Radio: 92.9 “The Game” FM