Friday night didn’t go well for the Atlanta Hawks, as a dismal first quarter set the tone for what became a 32-point loss at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks. That lopsided defeat came at the end of a winless road trip for the team but, on Sunday evening, the Hawks return home in a much friendlier spot against the Miami Heat.

Atlanta owns a 2-0 record against Miami this season, though it should be noted that the visitors are playing vastly improved basketball at this juncture. The Heat have won 8 of 10 games to right the ship almost completely and, as a result of their upswing, Miami actually arrives in Atlanta as a 6-point favorite on the road.

Still, this is a much more favorable situation for the Hawks on paper than what transpired on Friday, even with Kent Bazemore and Taurean Prince still on the shelf with injury. The rest of the injury report is relatively clean, however, as only Miles Plumlee (knee) will join the prominent wing duo in street clothes. That sets the stage for a relatively “normal” rotation among big men, but Kevin Huerter has been asked to carry a massive workload on the wing in recent days and the way the lineup breaks down on the wing will be interesting.

Lastly, Miami has been deploying a (very) big lineup in the absence of Goran Dragic, with Justise Winslow acting as a de facto “point guard.” That could put Atlanta’s backcourt (and Trae Young, in particular) in some interesting positions. Still, this is an opportunity for the Hawks to get back on track after a shaky start to 2019 and that brings relative optimism to the mix.

Stay tuned throughout the day for all the latest from State Farm Arena.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Sunday, Jan. 6, 6:00 pm ET

Location: Fiserv Forum

TV: Fox Sports Southeast

Radio: 92.9 The Game (Atlanta); Hawks Radio Network

Streaming: Fox Sports Go; NBA League Pass (out of market)