7 Home Games Atlanta Hawks Fans Will Not Want To Miss
By Deke Lloyd
The Atlanta Hawks hype is reaching a fever pitch for the upcoming season. With the schedule dropping yesterday for the NBA season, the excitement just got turned up another level. Here are some of the home games fans are going to want to be there to see.
1. October 31- Miami Heat
Southeast divisional rival, the Miami Heat will come into Atlanta on Halloween night for one of the two nationally televised games on the Hawks schedule, coincidentally both national games are with the Miami Heat. This game will be a good opportunity for young talent Trae Young and John Collins to shine in front of a national audience. Also, a chance for one of the best shooting guards, Kevin Huerter, in the league to square off with Jimmy Buckets.
2. November 20- Milwaukee Bucks
Whenever a player with once-in-a-generation kind of talent, like Giannis Antetokounmpo, come to your city, it’s a can’t miss game. After knocking on the door of NBA Finals before running into a buzzsaw by the name of Kawhi Leonard, the Bucks are of the favorites to come out of the East this year. Watching the young talent of DeAndre Hunter and John Collins trying to contain Giannis will be a spectacle in itself.
3. December 2- Golden State Warriors
There will be no Klay Thompson or recently-departed superstar Kevin Durant, but there will be a shortage of talent on the floor when the Warriors come to Atlanta. Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and newcomer D’Angelo Russell will be more than enough talent to give the Hawks all the trouble they can handle. Trae Young has long been compared to Steph Curry. The Young-Curry match up is worth the price of admission.
4. December 15- Los Angeles Lakers
LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Those two names explain any reason you would need to see this game in person. Arguably, two of the top-five players in the NBA on one team will be coming to Atlanta for a December game. Chances to see LeBron play at such an elite level are getting fewer every season. Watching LeBron do his magic with a superstar like Anthony Davis will be must-see for any Hawks fan. Another storyline will be John Collins and Kyle Kuzma. Kuzma has been hyped beyond belief this season since remaining in LA after the AD trade. Collins, a player who is far less talked about on a national level, will have a chance to prove what a better player he is than the overhyped Kuzma.
5. January 8- Houston Rockets
The 2.0 version of the Rockets will come to Atlanta just after the New Year Holiday. It’s going to be Trae Young and the Hawks first chance to see the Rockets since trading for Russell Westbrook to reunite Westbrook and Harden, old teammates from Oklahoma City. The Rockets are taking a big gamble putting these two players together, but the talent is undeniable. This will be a fun matchup to watch in the middle of winter.
January 22- Los Angeles Clippers
The days of Lob City are long gone. A new era of basketball, led by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, will begin this upcoming season. The Hawks will have to wait until late-January to get their first look at the revamped Clippers on their home floor. The Clippers are the presumed favorites coming into the season, and after seeing what Kawhi Leonard did last season in the playoffs, it’s easy to see why. This will be a game Hawks fans will not want to miss.
March 31- New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans are a new team, led by number one overall pick, Zion Williamson. This will be the Hawks only matchup with the Pelicans at home this season so Hawks fans will not want to miss this game. The Pelicans are boasting more than just Zion, having acquired Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram in the Anthony Davis trade. With Trae Young, John Collins, DeAndre Hunter, and Cam Reddish all on the other side of the court, it will be hard to match the combined young talent by any other two teams this season.