The Hawks will rest three-fifths of their starting lineup against the Sixers with Jeff Teague, DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap getting a rest Tuesday.
The Hawks began a four-road-games-in-five-nights stretch and coach Mike Budenholzer said the team is trying to be proactive regarding his players’ health.
“This is going to be a really, really difficult stretch for us so I’m just trying to prioritize our players’ health and have a long-term view of the season,” Budenholzer said.
The Hawks (29-8) will start a lineup of Dennis Schroder, Kyle Korver, Thabo Sefolosha, Mike Muscala and Al Horford against the Sixers (7-29). It is the first caree start for Muscala.
Budenholzer wouldn’t reveal whether the Hawks will continue to rest players on the road trip. He was asked if it was better to rest players at the start of such a run of games rather than at the end.
“There are lots of different ways to approach it,” Budenholzer said. “That is our mindset to be aggressive or proactive instead of waiting for something to happen, whether there is an injury or fatigue, maybe we can get ahead.”
Carroll and Millsap are inactive and Teague will not play, according to the coach.
Budenholzer may be taking a page from his mentor in Gregg Popovich. The Spurs coach, who Budenholzer worked under for 19 years, has made a practice of resting players during the season to keep them fresh for the playoffs.
The Hawks have won eight straight and 22 of the past 24 games as they lead the Eastern Conference by four games.
