Just because the Atlanta Hawks shouldn’t be a problem for the Nets doesn’t mean they can’t be. After all, they did hold a lead after the first quarter of their matchup with Brooklyn earlier in December.
Still, it’s really hard to find a reason why the Hawks could pull off an upset on Saturday.
Only Golden State (6-24) has a worse record than the Hawks (6-23), which is only because the Warriors have played one more game.
Now, the Hawks might be doing a bit better if John Collins was active (suspension for performance-enhancing substance), so the onus wouldn’t be almost solely on Trae Young. But that’s neither here nor there for Brooklyn.
The Hawks have the worst team 3-point percentage in the NBA (32%). The Hawks have a better standing in terms of overall field goal percentage, but they’re still in the lower third (No. 21) in that category, too.
Simply put, “good” is not a word one would use to describe the Hawks. Young is a scoring machine and may give Spencer Dinwiddie fits throughout the night, but it’s pretty clear by Atlanta’s record the sophomore point guard can’t do it on his own.
Even if Young puts together a masterful performance — like he did against Brooklyn on December 4 — and one of his teammates has a 20-point game — which Cam Reddish did (25) on December 4 — Atlanta isn’t going to stop the Nets offense.
But, it’s games like these where a favored team can know all of this entering the game and start off slowly. With the Nets depleted even further following David Nwaba’s injury, they cannot coast early.
Matchups like these are ones where Rodions Kurucs, Dzanan Musa and Theo Pinson should each have the chance to log 12-plus minutes. It’s on the starters and key reserves to get Brooklyn to that point as early as possible. This would also be for the betterment of the key contributors. They could use a bit of rest. Taking a seismic lead in Saturday’s game will allow Kenny Atkinson to give Dinwiddie and company exactly what they need.