The Hawks will look to validate their regular season dominance with a win over the Brooklyn Nets.
For a team that dominated its conference, the Hawks don't get a lot of respect. The Cavaliers have been anointed as the favorite to come out of the East, leaving Atlanta as an afterthought. It's true the Hawks didn't close the season playing as well as they were in December and January but their record speaks for itself. The only way Atlanta will quiet the concerns about how their style of play will translate to the postseason, will be by crushing Brooklyn in the first round.
The Hawks dominated the Nets in the regular season, winning their series by an average of 17 points. Of course the Nets have gone through some severe changes before finding their current form, shifting starting lineups and finally trading Kevin Garnett for Thaddeus Young. That transaction re-energized a team that looked lethargic before the trade deadline, and helped make the push that landed Brooklyn in the postseason. Yet it didn't elevate their ceiling enough to overcome an opponent that has their number as badly as the Hawks do.
Paul Millsap is expected to play in Game 1 despite nursing a shoulder injury, which means Atlanta will have most of its key pieces available. The loss of Thabo Sefolosha to a broken fibula could affect their chances farther down the line but they should be able to survive it against Brooklyn. The Nets have very little pressure after achieving the goal of making the playoffs, so they should play loose. It's still hard to see them stealing a game in Atlanta but stranger things have happened.
How to watch Brooklyn at Atlanta
Place: Philips Arena
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
TV: TNT
Online: WatchTNT
from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1yGNBWh
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