With the All-Star break approaching the Atlanta Hawks are in an unfamiliar position. They are one of the top teams in the league, currently battling back and forth with the Golden State Warriors for the top record while sitting on top in the Eastern Conference. Prior to the year beginning, the Hawks were predicted to be a bottomfeeder in the standings and now they are sitting at the top with four players on the All-Star roster and are looking to close things out before the break with one more win over the Boston Celtics.
The Hawks will bring four players into the All-Star game as Mike Budenholzer gets to coach the Eastern Conference squad. Kyle Korver got the in when Dwyane Wade pulled out due to injury. He joins Al Horford, Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague as reserves. Many praise Adam Silver for picking Korver who can become the first player in NBA history to shoot better than 50 percent from three-point range and 90 percent in free throws. Korver has been a huge piece to the success of the Hawks and their offense.
The Hawks are coming off a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves after losing to the Memphis Grizzlies. They shot 51.2 percent against the Timberwolves which was a big change from the 41.3 shooting percentage against Memphis. Horford improved along with DeMarre Carroll, both shooting season-highs after struggling against the Grizzlies. The issue for the Hawks is they continue to be outrebounded in the past four of five games.
The Celtics can expose the Hawks' weakness as rebounding happens to be one of the team's strengths despite their losing record. The Celtics are a plus-5.0 while ranking seventh with 14.4 second-chance points per game. The Hawks are only 29th in that category, giving up 22 and 26 in their last two games. The team must improve on the rebounding if they want one more win before the All-Star break while that stat could make or break their potential at a deep run in the playoffs.
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