Houston — The main focus for the Hawks is to finish the week with the Southeast Division lead, but there’s also another carrot out there.
If the Hawks are in second place in the Eastern Conference after Sunday, Hawks coach Mike Woodson would coach the East team at the Feb. 14 All-Star game. Cavaliers coach Mike Brown is ineligible since he coached in the game last season.
The Hawks started the week tied with Orlando for third in the East and one-half game behind Boston for second. Miami is far behind those three teams so either Woodson, Boston’s Doc Rivers or Orlando’s Stan Van Gundy will coach the East All-Stars.
The Hawks play host to Boston on Friday and are at Orlando on Saturday. Orlando also plays host to Boston on Thursday.
Rivers and Van Gundy have coached the All-Stars before. Woodson seemed taken aback by the possibility of coaching in the game for the first time.
“It’s something I never imagined or dreamed of doing,” Woodson said. “But what’s more important is the development of this team.”
Horford gets stitches
Hawks center Al Horford needed stitches after suffering a cut on his left thumb in the first quarter Monday night. He returned later in the half. . . . Former major leaguer Roger Clemens was a guest of Woodson’s in the locker room before the Hawks faced the Rockets at the Toyota Center. Woodson and Clemens both own homes in nearby Katy, Tex.
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