A team that many had left for dead coming into this season, the Atlanta Hawks have managed to keep their head above water through the first 2 months of play. Their 14-13 record has them in 7th place in the Eastern Conference, but they’re just 2 wins behind the 3rd place New York Knicks. This has been much to the dismay of San Antonio Spurs’ fans who were hoping to cash in on the 2025 unprotected 1st round pick that the team acquired in the Dejounte Murray trade back in 2022. With both team’s exceeding expectations in this early portion of the season though, plans for high Spurs’ draft picks in next June’s NBA Draft are seemingly on the back burner, at least for now.

San Antonio Spurs (13-13) vs Atlanta Hawks (14-13)

December 19th 2024 | 7:00 PM CT

Watch: CW35| Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)

Spurs Injuries: Keldon Johnson: day to day (calf), Zach Collins: day to day (back), Tre Jones: day to day (shoulder)

Hawks Injuries: Cody Zeller: out (personal)

What to watch for

• The Hawks have managed to hover above .500 in spite of what can only be described as a down year for their All Star point guard Trae Young. A lot of Young’s numbers are down, as he’s averaging his fewest PPG since his rookie season (21.5) on the worst percentages of his career (39/32/88). A lot of that can be attributed to the fact that Atlanta just doesn’t have a lot of great options around him, though he is leading the league in assists per game by a comfortable margin with 12.1 (though against a league-leading 4.6 turnovers per game). Regardless of the shooting percentages and the turnover problems, Young remains the head of the snake for Atlanta.
• The slender young man Victor Wembanyama main match-up will likely be 10 year vet Clint Capela. Capela, who is once again nearly averaging a double-double for the Hawks in less than 25 minutes a night, has nearly 30 pounds on Wemby and has always been a solid defender and rim protector. Look to see if Sharpshooter Victor makes an appearance early and is able to pull Capela out on the perimeter.
• Jeremy Sochan had a season-best 15 rebounds in the loss to Minnesota. Sochan has looked very good after missing all of November nursing a hand injury. He has 3 double-doubles in 6 of his games since returning.

For the Hawks fan’s perspective, please visit Peachtree Hoops.

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