Tonight's 7:30 p.m. ET game between the Atlanta Hawks and Phoenix Suns features two teams currently facing drastically different situations.
The 57-19 Hawks have already clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. The only dramatic storylines surrounding Atlanta's remaining six games are the right shoulder injury Paul Millsap sustained Saturday against the Nets and the team's opportunity to shatter the franchise's single-season wins mark.
It will be interesting to see how Mike Budenholzer manages his rotation tonight, especially with Mike Scott (toe) and Dennis Schroder (toe) still hampered by injuries.
The Suns, on the other hand, are just fighting for another day of playoff-race relevance. Phoenix would be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss and a win by the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight.
Even a win over the Hawks may not be enough to stop the sun from setting on Phoenix's uneven season.
The Suns hold just a 1 percent chance at overtaking the Thunder and New Orleans Pelicans for the Western Conference's final playoff spot, according to ESPN's Basketball Power Index.
Unfortunately for Phoenix, those dismal odds look even longer with starting guard and midseason acquisition Brandon Knight reportedly done for the season due to a heel bone bruise.
Though the Hawks are a bit banged up and more interested in maintaining health than securing meaningless victories, the Suns will still have to play their best basketball in order to grit out a victory over a team that's only lost at home five times all season.
Check back in at 7 p.m. ET as I start up the live blog with some pregame analysis and observation.
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, April 7, 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Television: SportSouth
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1HNtMfG
via IFTTT April 07, 2015 at 12:58PM
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