This week the Hawks play a shortened slate of just two games as the league preps for All-Star Weekend. The Hawks have a number of participants lined up for events Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (see below). Dominique Wilkins, Dennis Schröder, Kyle Korver, Jeff Teague, Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Mike Budenholzer and the rest of the Hawks coaching staff are all headed to New York City.
MINI-POWER RANKINGS FOR THE UPCOMING WEEK
The Hawks have games this week against:
Minnesota (Monday | 8:00 PM | Target Center | SportSouth, WZGC-FM)
Boston (Wednesday | 7:30 PM | TD Garden | SportSouth, 92.9 The Game)
1. Atlanta: The Hawks went 2-2 during their toughest scheduled week of games for the entire season. Their 17-7 road record ties them with Golden State for the best road record in the NBA, and the Hawks will be put to the test for another pair of games this week.
2. Boston: After Al Horford, Celtics center Kelly Olynyk may be the best shooting big man in the Eastern Conference -- and he shoots a lot of threes too. Olynyk has made 36 out of 102 three-point shots (35.5%) for the season
3. Minnesota: After winning three consecutive Western Conference Rookie of the Month Awards, Andrew Wiggins is primed for a fourth. His per-game assist and rebound totals are up to 6.0 and 2.8, respectively, and his plus-minus rating for the month is plus-4.8, even though he is playing over 40 minutes per game.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
Al Horford vs. Nikola Pekovic. In four consecutive games, Horford will have been matched up against Marcin Gortat, Andrew Bogut, Marc Gasol and Nikola Pekovic. That's 27 feet 11 inches and 1060 pounds of large, talented people with whom to contend. Pekovic scored an impressive 29 points in a road win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
ALL-STAR WEEKEND EVENTS
Friday, Feb. 13 • 9 p.m. BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge | TNT
Dennis Schröder will ply his trade for an International team of first- and second-year players that also includes Andrew Wiggins and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Hawks assistant Kenny Atkinson will coach the International squad.
Saturday, Feb. 14 • 8:30 p.m. | State Farm All-Star Saturday Night | TNT Degree Shooting Stars (1st Event)
Dominique Wilkins will defend his title in the Degree Shooting Stars event. Wilkins and teammates Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat and Swin Cash of the New York Liberty, are the two-time defending champions of the event.
Taco Bell Skills Challenge (2nd Event)
Jeff Teague will try his hand at the Taco Bell Skills Challenge that also features Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, Michael Carter-Williams, Brandon Knight, Isaiah Thomas, and John Wall. The eight-player field will compete in a three-round, obstacle-course competition that tests dribbling, passing, agility and shooting skills.
Foot Locker Three-Point Contest (3rd Event)
Kyle Korver headlines a loaded field that also includes Stephen Curry, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Wesley Matthews, J.J. Redick, Klay Thompson, and defending champ Marco Belinelli.
Sunday, Feb. 15 • 8:30 p.m. | NBA All-Star Game | TNT
In the main event, Paul Millsap, Al Horford, and Jeff Teague will come off the bench for an East squad that will be coached by Mike Budenholzer.
SOMETHING SEEN...
The Hawks played three consecutive games against teams with winning percentages above 0.600, and the Hawks won two out of three of them. Here was the most uncanny play Wednesday. How did Pero Antic even know where Kyle Korver was lining up?
SOMETHING HEARD
"We broke down defensively. They had a lot to do with that because of the way they stretch you out." -- Steve Kerr, head coach of the Golden State Warriors, on the Hawks' offense and its ability to shoot from all over the floor
INJURY REPORT
Thabo Sefolosha is out with a right calf strain. Jeff Teague appeared to sprain his ankle in the fourth quarter of the game Sunday, but later returned to finish the game.
INTERESTING...
Nice stat find by Arturo Galletti using Basketball Reference: Friday's Hawks-Warriors game was unprecedented in terms of the quality of records of the two teams.
ABSURD STAT
Over the last 10 Hawks games, Dennis Schröder is averaging 10.3 points and 4.7 assists per game, while making 47.1% of his threes. Those are gaudy totals, especially considering that he has played just 18.9 minutes per game over the same span.
Story by KL ChouinardTwitter: @AnaheimAmigos