When/where: 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Philips Arena
TV: Fox Sports Southeast
Stream: Fox Sports Go
Radio: 92.9 The Game
Injuries:
Hawks: Luke Babbitt (low back), Mike Muscala (sprained left ankle) and Isaiah Taylor (retinal tear, right eye) are out.
Nicolas Brussino is also out (assigned to Erie BayHawks on Wednesday)
Knicks: Enes Kanter (back spasms) and Joakim Noah (illness/did not travel) are out.
Who will start: John Collins, Taurean Prince, Dewayne Dedmon, Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore will start for the Hawks.
Collins is making the second start of his career with the Hawks after starting against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
What to watch for:
Statistically, the Hawks might be able to have some success against 10-win Knicks if they can continue shooting well beyond the arc.
The Hawks (3-15) enter Friday night third in the NBA in 3-point percentage (38.8).
Tyler Cavanaugh (54.4 percent), Dewayne Dedmon (50 percent), Josh Magette (50 percent) and Luke Babbitt (43.3 percent) lead the Hawks in 3-pointers this season.
The Knicks enter Friday’s game allowing opponents a 37.3 3-point percentage this season, 20th in the league.
The Hawks could also see success in creating turnovers against the Knicks. Entering Friday, the Hawks rank fifth in the league with 15.9 opponent turnovers per game.
“They have active guys, they have guys with great hands, they got some shot blockers in there,” Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said. “You can’t ever look at a team’s record, it’s usually meaningless in the NBA. Every night’s different. They’ve played some good teams and some close games so I think our guys know that and we’ll be ready.”
Through 17 games, the Knicks are averaging 15.4 turnovers per game, 19th in the league. Kent Bazemore will be an important player to watch during the turnover battle Friday because he leads the Hawks with 1.8 steals per game.
A final advantage for the Hawks is the Knicks 1-4 record on the road.
“Usually you hope you shoot the ball the same on the road as you do at home, but let’s face it, most teams shoot the ball better at home,” Hornacek said. “You got to rely on your defense more, you got to get stops, you can’t turn the ball over, let the crowd get into the game so that kind of leads to more discipline with the shots you take. You can’t have bad shots.”
Watch for former Hawk Tim Hardaway Jr. who is coming off a 38-point game against the Raptors on Thursday. Hardaway also recorded six rebounds and seven assists against the Raptors.
The Hawks did not match the Knicks offer this offseason for Hardaway who spent two seasons in Atlanta.
“I think he appreciates where he is now and appreciates that journey or whatever word you want to use that’s taken him from coming a little bit banged up physically to just a place where he’s a heck of a player,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer.
Notes:
- The Knicks are coming off a 108-100 win over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday. The Hawk will play the Raptors on Saturday night at Philips Arena.
- The Hawks are coming off a 116-103 loss at Philips Arena to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.
- The Knicks' Kristaps Porzingis leads the team and ranks fourth in the league in scoring, with 27.3 points per game. Porzingis also leads the team and league in blocks, with 2.31 per game.
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