The Atlanta Hawks have some pride in the fact that they are one of only three teams in the eastern conference with the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers that are above .500 with winning records and on Thursday night the team will face off against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena and the game starts up at 7 pm and will be streaming online from the NBA League Pass.
The Cavaliers had high expectations coming into the season and the team is just 10-17 on the year and the Hawks are coming into the game after a loss in overtime against the Miami Heat and they next will play against the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night after the Thursday matchup. The Heat played on the road and won against the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day and the Hawks come into the game averaging over 100 points per game and they are ranked first in the league in assists per game and 14th in points allowed on defense with just over 100 allowed per contest. Jeff Teague led the way for the Hawks against the Miami Heat with 26 points and eight assists, while Al Horford led the way with 11 rebounds per game and those two players will be the main focus for the Cavs defense and Kyrie Irving.
Check here for the Hawks and Cavs live coverage.
The Cavaliers come into the game after a tough loss against the Detroit Pistons and the team next will play on the road against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. The team has been looking to trade Dion Waiters for most of the season and a deal could come closer to the trading deadline and the Cavs come in scoring under 100 points per game and the defense has not been all that great either.
Irving led the team with 21 points and seven assists on Monday night against the Pistons and Andrew Bynum had seven rebounds in the game and now they have the Cavaliers on Thursday night. Paul Millsap played well for the Hawks in the win against the Heat with a double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds and the Hawks had a lead heading into overtime before blowing it and the team will be looking to win on Thursday after Christmas against the Cavaliers.
