The Atlanta Hawks had an interesting offseason. After coming off a surprisingly successful stint in the postseason, nearly upsetting the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. However, everything was overshadowed when racially offensive comments surfaced from the team's co-owner and general manager. Starting off with a close loss to the Toronto Raptors did not help either. However, the Hawks now get a re-match against the Pacers in their home opener.
The Hawks have sold out their home opener despite all of the offseason drama where Luol Deng was poorly mentioned in a player scouting email. Atlanta could break the Philips Arena attendance record for the first time as the Hawks could be a team in contention by the end of the year. In the opening loss to the Raptors, Al Horford made his return to the court with 12 points and 13 rebounds. The Hawks attempted to make one final run at the Raptors. Kyle Korver and Mike Scott each had 20 points while Jeff Teague had another 20 himself. Turnovers were the main issue for the Hawks. They had 17 against Toronto while committing 15.3 per game last year.
The Pacers are shorthanded this season. They let Lance Stephenson walk away in free agency. Paul George has been lost for what most people believe to be the entire season after a gruesome leg injury while playing for Team USA. They are 1-1 on the year and possibly looking to prove themselves against Atlanta who were forced to play seven games against them in the postseason. Chris Copeland led the team with 16 points. CJ Miles and Donald Sloan combined to go 10 for 23. Meanwhile, Roy Hibbert had just eight points in the last game after scoring 22 against Philadelphia. The Hawks will need more production out of the center if they are going to win more games this season.
