Atlanta Hawks vs. Blazers preview: Friday Night Hype

The Atlanta Hawks have won 17-straight NBA games. They are killing their opposition seemingly night in and night out. Three Hawks were named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team yesterday, and two more Atlanta players will be participating in the weekend festivities as well.

After taking down the Brooklyn Nets Wednesday, the Hawks look to the Portland Trailblazers tonight to extend their winning streak to 18. And with a 38-8 record, the Hawks have the second-best record in the NBA. You cannot say enough good things about this team at the moment, and they are a joy to watch each game.

While it certainly seems like the Hawks won’t ever lose again, the Trailblazers pose one of the bigger challenges the team has faced of late–even if Portland has been playing some of its worst basketball of the season. LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard are the clear leaders of the team, and both of them are +20 PER players thus far.

They’ve lost six of their previous eight games, but these two players are capable of taking over a game at any point. Still, the Hawks have the advantage of bringing in the superior team and clearly won’t have to rely on individual players like Portland might.

And while the Hawks have had the best scoring defense in the league, that performance has slipped a bit recently, with Minnesota scoring 100 points against them two games ago, and Brooklyn dropping 102. Before those games, the Hawks held opponents under 100 in eight straight games.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter (@ATLBeatBlog) for more Atlanta Hawks information leading up to the game and check back after the final buzzer for a full recap.

Atlanta Hawks vs. Portland Trail Blazers preview: Friday Night Hype

By Carlos Collazo | Jan 30, 2015