Atlanta Hawks vs. Los Angeles Clippers preview: Paul and Griffin invade Philips Arena

ByCarlos Collazo|Dec 23, 2014, 6:00 AM EST

Update:Jeff Teague will return on Tuesday evening, with Dennis Schröder getting the start at point guard while Teague comes off the bench.

Jeff Teague is active for tonight's game. However, Dennis Schröder will get the start, per Coach Bud.
— Peachtree Hoops (@peachtreehoops)December 23, 2014

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The Atlanta Hawks continue to roll, as they managed to escape from Texas with a sweep against the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks in the past few days. Now, Mike Budenholzer and his team return to Atlanta for another match-up against a top flight team, as the Hawks welcome the Los Angeles Clippers to Philips Arena for a face-off on Tuesday evening.

Los Angeles suffered a loss in San Antonio on Monday night, so the Hawks could be facing an inspired bunch. Still, the Clippers could be tired on a back-to-back in two road venues, and not even the duo ofChris PaulandBlake Griffincan neutralize that type of wear and tear.

It seems crazy to say that the Atlanta Hawks are the “favorite” against an upper-echelon team in the West, but that is possibly the case here. The Hawks enter this game with a fantastic, 20-7 record, and while the Clippers are 19-9 in the admittedly tougher Western Conference, the nature of the friendly venue for Atlanta could give them a nice bump. Nothing is a given when you’re dealing with a team like the Clippers, but Atlanta remains a top-10 team in the NBA in both offense and defense, and that brings a great deal of security and optimism.

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.