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Preview: Hawks look to end road trip with a win in New Orleans

NBA: Atlanta Hawks at San Antonio Spurs Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Hawks (24-24) finish their eight-game road trip with a battle against the New Orleans Pelicans (21-26) Friday evening. Atlanta is 3-4 so far on the trip coming off a win Thursday night over the San Antonio Spurs.

In the absence of John Collins and De’Andre Hunter, the Hawks were powered by Trae Young, Clint Capela and Bogdan Bogdanovic, all of whom scored 28 points in the win. Young added 12 assists and Capela added 17 rebounds along with five blocked shots.

Atlanta ranks 10th in the NBA with a +1.2 net rating, and sits as the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference as of Friday afternoon. With a win Friday night, the Hawks could move as a high as the fourth spot in the East, depending on what happens with the New York Knicks (6th) and Charlotte Hornets (4th), who also play games on Friday.

New Orleans ranks 14th with a +0.3 net rating, ranking seventh in offense and 28th in defense. The Pelicans do not struggle to score, but they do struggle to get stops. With them being short-handed as well as on a back-to-back this could be a game for Atlanta to take advantage, except for the fact that the Hawks are also short-handed, on a back-to-back and played a two-overtime game on Thursday evening.

Injuries

For Atlanta, there some notables here. Trae Young (left knee soreness) is out. Danilo Gallinari (left Achilles soreness) is also out. John Collins (ankle) and De’Andre Hunter (knee) remain out. Cam Reddish (Achilles) and Kris Dunn (ankle) also remain out.

For New Orleans, there are also some notable inactives. Zion Williamson (thumb), Brandon Ingram (toe), Lonzo Ball (hip) and Josh Hart (thumb) are all out for the Pelicans against the Hawks tonight.

The Line

Atlanta currently sits as a 1.5-point underdog as of Friday afternoon. With all of the injuries in this contest, go figure. The Pelicans and Hawks are both without four (or more) significant contributors, so this might not be the easiest game to project.

Stay tuned throughout the day for all the latest.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Friday, Apr. 2, 9:00 pm ET

Location: Smoothie King Center

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

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

Streaming: Fox Sports Go