Preview: Hawks aim for sweep of back-to-back in matchup with Blazers

The Atlanta Hawks took home an ‘ugly’ win on Sunday evening, when they needed 47 points from Trae Young to outlast the severely short-handed Indiana Pacers, who had played and traveled the night before. Nonetheless, a win is a win, and the Hawks will look for another one on Monday when they host the struggling Portland Trail Blazers.

Damian Lillard is out for the season due to injury, and CJ McCollum has been traded to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Blazers team that will be in Atlanta Monday evening is one the Hawks should have no trouble with, even during their second game in as many nights.

Atlanta will have a chance to move back to .500 at 34-34 with a win, as they continue to try to fight their way up the Eastern Conference standings with 15 games left in the regular season. The Hawks enter play on Monday as the No. 9 seed in the East, just half a game ahead of the Charlotte Hornets.

While the Blazers may seem dead in the water, but they are actually just one game behind the New Orleans Pelicans for the No. 10 seed in the West. While Portland is just 9-22 on the road this season, they do still have something to play for in Atlanta on Monday night and will have the rest edge with the Hawks on the back-to-back.

Injuries

The Hawks list John Collins (finger sprain, foot strain) and Danilo Gallinari (right Achilles soreness) as out for Monday’s game, meaning they are down their top two power forwards for the contest.

Portland will be without Damian Lillard, Eric Bledsoe, Joe Ingles, Nassir Little, Jusuf Nurkic, Anfernee Simons and Justise Winslow on Monday. Needless to say, the Blazers have significant firepower missing and the Hawks will have a good chance to take care of business in this game.

Odds

The Hawks are 13.5-point favorites vs. the Blazers as of early Monday afternoon, for those who may be interested.

Game Info

Game Date & Time: Mon. Mar. 14, 7:30 pm ET

Location: State Farm Arena

TV: BSSE, League Pass (out of market)

Streaming: Bally Sports App, League Pass (out of market)

Radio: 92.9 The Game

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