The Atlanta Hawks are looking to keep the dream alive. Right now, the team is leading the Eastern Conference during a season no one expected them to contend for even the final playoff spot. Yet here the Hawks are, winners of 16-straight games and looking to extend it once more as they prepare to play the Brooklyn Nets at home.
The Hawks already broke their franchise's longest win streak when they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. They extended that win a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday. Now, they have the chance to beat the season's longest win streak currently held by the Golden State Warriors. The key to Hawks according to opponents' head coaches is their efficiency across the roster as the team is getting productive stats from everyone.
In the win over Minnesota, it was Paul Millsap and Al Horford who led the way. Millsap had 20 points while shooting 8 of 12 from the field. Horford put up 19 points. Millsap has been thriving lately, averaging 18.5 points while shooting 56.9 percent in the four home games of a nine-game stand. Horford is shooting 73.6 percent in his last seven games while setting teammates up with 5.4 assists per game in that stretch. He has helped Atlanta convert an average of 55.0 points in the paint in their last two games.
Atlanta is aiming to keep that going as they prepare to face the Brooklyn Nets who have struggled in recent weeks. The Nets have been outscored 98-78 while losing their last two games by 74 points. Over half the roster is being subjected to trade rumors. Brook Lopez is at the center of that while totally up just 10 points in the past two games. Joe Johnson could be sent packing while he is averaging 15.5 points per game and totaling 15 in his last two.
When the two teams last saw one another, DeMarre Carroll led the team with 18 points while Horford struggled to grab seven. Lopez was the star for the Nets with 20 points, but it was the long range shooting for Atlanta that pushed them through. That has continued as Carroll has made eight of his 15 3-point shots over the past three games and Kyle Korver continues to lead the league while shooting 53.1 percent from beyond the arc.
