The Hawks have spread the season's first three-game losing streak across the tail-end of an 11-day road trip and their first game back in Philips Arena.
Kyle Korver wants the team to keep pushing for success, even though they have gotten to a point in the season where there isn't much to be motivated about.
"At this point in the season, it's not about little things anymore. It's just bigger picture stuff. I think why we have so much respect for San Antonio -- there's a lot of reasons -- but for them to keep their mental edge over the years. They win championships, but they keep that edge. They keep playing so hard. We're at a point in the season where we have a good lead in the standings. We know the playoffs are coming, and we've had this long road trip, and it's easy to kind of relax a little bit. But the good teams are able to keep their foot on the pedal."
MINI-POWER RANKINGS FOR THE UPCOMING WEEK
The Hawks have games this week against:
Orlando (Wednesday | 7:00 PM | Amway Center | SportSouth, 92.9 The Game)
Miami (Friday | 7:30 PM | Philips Arena | SportSouth, 92.9 The Game | Get Tickets)
Charlotte (Saturday | 7:00 PM | The Time Warner Cable Arena | SportSouth, 92.9 The Game)
1. Atlanta: After the Spurs loss, Jeff Teague commented on the task of guarding Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook and Tony Parker in consecutive games, and on whether or not the physical toll of the season had started to add up.
"I've been tired and banged up," he said with an emphasis toward the past tense to indicate just how long he has been nagged by ailments. "It's a long season. They're tired and banged up too. I don't think it was about Parker and those guys tonight. I think it was about us. I think we just played poorly altogether."
2. Miami: It is not out of the realm of possibility that the Hawks and Heat go head to head in the first round of the playoffs. The Heat are currently ranked 7th with a 32-37 record, but the teams currently ranked 7th through 11th in the Eastern Conference are separated by only 2.5 games in the standings.
3. Charlotte: As a team, the Hornets are 11.0 points better per 100 possessions with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist on the floor. The young forward is a difference maker, especially on defense.
4. Orlando: It may too late for guard Elfrid Payton to get involved in the Rookie of the Year chase, but that won't stop him from trying. Payton had triple doubles in consecutive games against Dallas and Portland last week.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
Hassan Whiteside vs. Al Horford. This one is just a fascinating contrast in styles: the aggressive shot-blocking and rebounding skills of an newcomer on display against the levelheaded scoring and passing and positioning of the veteran Horford.
SOMETHING SEEN...
Paul Millsap had 16 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and a pair of steals against the Warriors Wednesday. Here he facilitates on a DeMarre Carroll cut on a play that started with a heads-up Kent Bazemore steal.
...AND SOMETHING HEARD
“They've got five guys on the court, almost all the time, that can score and have to handled and can't be left alone. So you can't come off one guy and go help any way you want. They've got threats on the floor everywhere. They execute first at the defensive end really well in the sense that they know the game plan. They give up a lot of threes, but it's hard to get in the paint, and the more you get in the paint, the more you turn it over. And that fuels their offense. And they all believe in it, and they all do it.” -- San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich talking Sunday before the game about the the basketball elements that have fueled the Hawks' success this season.
INJURY REPORT
Thabo Sefolosha is out with a right calf strain. He has been out for about seven weeks, and if the original timetable holds true, he should return to action relatively soon.
After further evaluation, it was determined that Mike Scott actually suffered an acute sprain of the big toe in his left foot. The timeline for his return is roughly 2-4 weeks.
AMAZING STAT
Today is the 60th birthday of former Hawks center Moses Malone. Malone holds the all-time NBA record for career offensive rebounds, a stat the league started tracking in 1973-74.
In his career, Malone grabbed 6731 offensive rebounds, which is more amazing considering that 1) no other NBA player even came close to 5000, and 2) that number doesn't include the 651 offensive rebounds he collected in two seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA).
Robert Parish is second on the all-time offensive rebounds list with 4598.
Malone spent three seasons with the Hawks, and his 364 offensive rebounds in 1989-90 led the NBA that season.
Story by KL ChouinardTwitter: @AnaheimAmigos