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Preview: Hawks continue road trip with visit to San Francisco

Golden State Warriors v Atlanta Hawks Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

The Atlanta Hawks were relatively busy on Thursday, even in a “day off” for the team on the floor. Travis Schlenk and company executed a trade to swap Rajon Rondo for Lou Williams, shaking up the team’s perimeter rotation as a result. That move comes on the heels of back-to-back road losses for Atlanta but, on Friday, the Hawks will have the chance to return to their winning ways in San Francisco against the Golden State Warriors.

This is the first battle between the two teams this season, though the Warriors will visit State Farm Arena for a rematch just nine days later. The Warriors enter with an identical win-loss record (22-22) to the Hawks, though Atlanta is playing better in recent days. Golden State has lost seven of the last ten games and, with Stephen Curry sidelined, Steve Kerr’s team isn’t quite as potent.

Still, the Warriors are a strong defensive team, ranking No. 6 in the NBA in points allowed per possession, and it will be a challenge for Atlanta to score efficiently. On the other end, the matchup is more favorable, as the Warriors are scoring less than one point per possession in the minutes without Curry on the floor this season.

Injuries

The Hawks continue to operate without both Cam Reddish (Achilles) and Kris Dunn (ankle) in this game. Elsewhere, De’Andre Hunter (right knee soreness) is listed as probable after playing the last two games. Hunter was off the injury report entirely on Wednesday.

Because the Warriors are on the second night of a back-to-back, the team’s official injury report for Friday’s game will not be known until Friday afternoon. However, Stephen Curry has been ruled out for multiple games, including this contest against the Hawks, and Draymond Green (illness) missed the team’s game on Thursday.

The Line

With Curry out, the Hawks are listed as 5.5-point favorites at the time of this post. Given that the game is taking place in San Francisco, that might be at least mildly surprising, but the Warriors rely on Curry for offensive output to a level that few teams do with a single player. In addition, Golden State is on the second night of a back-to-back, with Atlanta on regular rest. As such, the Hawks are “expected” to win this game, and it will be interesting to see how they respond to two straight losses.

Stay tuned throughout the day for all the latest.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Friday, Mar. 26, 10:00 pm ET

Location: Chase Center

TV: ESPN, Fox Sports Southeast, NBA League Pass (out of market)

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

Streaming: Fox Sports Go