Despite positive flashes from the offense, the Atlanta Hawks succumbed to James Harden, Clint Capela and the Houston Rockets on Tuesday evening. While there is no inherent shame in that result, the Hawks have lost three straight games and on Thursday night, the Utah Jazz come to State Farm Arena to present another challenge for Atlanta.
The Hawks have a brutal schedule on the horizon to close out the season and this matchup certainly qualifies. On the more favorable side, this is the second night of a back-to-back set for Utah, and that is often beneficial for the home team that was not in action on Wednesday. Still, the Jazz downed the Hawks by 16 points in early February and, in general, Quin Snyder’s bunch is operating at a high level.
Utah presents an impressive defense, captained by Rudy Gobert, and their offense can function beautifully when the pieces are moving in optimal fashion and Donovan Mitchell has it going. In the same breath, the Hawks do have the firepower to stay competitive in this spot but, if the team’s defense doesn’t hold up, it could be a long night at the office as Lloyd Pierce’s squad looks to avoid a fourth straight loss.
From a Las Vegas perspective, the Jazz are likely to enter this game as a favorite, even on the road on short rest. That is usually a pretty good guide by which to set expectations but, as always, things can be fluid in the world of the NBA and, given the fact that Utah was in action (in a blowout win over the Knicks) on Wednesday evening, the official point spread is not available at the time of this post.
Stay tuned throughout the day for all the latest from State Farm Arena.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Thursday, March 21, 7:30 pm ET
Location: State Farm Arena
TV: Fox Sports Southeast, NBA League Pass (out of market)
Radio: 92.9 The Game (Atlanta); Hawks Radio Network
Streaming: Fox Sports Go