While the Cleveland Cavaliers are the team to beat in the Eastern Conference while the Chicago Bulls are coming into their own as a real threat, the Atlanta Hawks remain at the No.2 spot in the conference as they continue to improve on the season. The team is starting to find their form after losing 10 of 16 games. Currently on a five-game win streak, the Hawks are preparing to face a New York Knicks team in need of consistency.
The Hawks have found a little bit of rhythm at this point in the season. They are averaging 90.7 points per game in the win streak as Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague improve. Teague has been big in the last few games. In the win over the Detroit Pistons, He put up 23 points, his most in 11 games. Teague credited a healthy ankle to the reason for his success as the Hawks are hopeful it continues. Teague put up 23 points the first time he saw the Knicks this season. Al Horford added 21 while Kyle Korver had 15 points. The offense looks much improved since that Oct. 29th game.
The Knicks are in need of bouncing back. The team fell short to Orlando before losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They played without Carmelo Anthony who suffered an ankle injury. Anthony is not certain for the game in Atlanta as he continues to heal from the injury. The Knicks are hopeful their leading scorer can be back, but if not then Kristaps Porzingis can carry the load. The rookie had 23 points and 13 rebounds with Anthony off the court. He has improved from his shooting slump that caused him to knock his average down to 7.9 points on 29.0 percent shooting in the previous seven games. If Anthony is out against, Porzingis must improve.
The Hawks are trying to find their way back to being the team that found themselves in the Eastern Conference finals. The team has struggled to replace the presence of DeMarre Carroll from last year. Kent Bazemore has been shooting well, but there is doubt he can retain the success. Millsap and Teague need to keep up their offensive production while the rest of the team catches up.
