Heat and Hawks Meet For Second Time in Days
The Miami Heat takes on the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on Thursday night.
The Heat (3-1) have been one of the surprises of the Eastern Conference in the early going, and they kept up their strong season-opening run at the expense of the Hawks on Tuesday night. Miami defeated Atlanta by a 112-97 score. Rookie Tyler Herro led the way off the bench with 29 points, adding seven rebounds and two assists. Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic generated matching 21-point tallies pulling down five and three rebounds, respectively. Bam Adebayo and Kendrick Nunn furnished 17 points apiece, with Adebayo also pulling down 10 rebounds.
The Heat will continue to be without Dion Waiters (conditioning) and Derrick Jones, Jr. (groin) for Thursday's game. James Johnson (coach's decision) could be a game-time decision.
John Collins paced the Hawks (2-2) in the contest with 30 points, adding seven rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block. Jabari Parker was a distant second with 12 points off the bench. Notably, no other Atlanta player managed double-digit scoring, although Trae Young's lackluster night was the result of injury. The second-year point guard suffered an ankle injury after logging just 11 minutes and will miss multiple games.
The Hawks will be without Young for Thursday's game, as well as Allen Crabbe (knee) and Chandler Parsons (knees). Evan Turner (Achilles) will be doubtful, while De'Andre Hunter will be considered probable with a mouth injury.
The Heat (3-1) have been one of the surprises of the Eastern Conference in the early going, and they kept up their strong season-opening run at the expense of the Hawks on Tuesday night. Miami defeated Atlanta by a 112-97 score. Rookie Tyler Herro led the way off the bench with 29 points, adding seven rebounds and two assists. Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic generated matching 21-point tallies pulling down five and three rebounds, respectively. Bam Adebayo and Kendrick Nunn furnished 17 points apiece, with Adebayo also pulling down 10 rebounds.
The Heat will continue to be without Dion Waiters (conditioning) and Derrick Jones, Jr. (groin) for Thursday's game. James Johnson (coach's decision) could be a game-time decision.
John Collins paced the Hawks (2-2) in the contest with 30 points, adding seven rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block. Jabari Parker was a distant second with 12 points off the bench. Notably, no other Atlanta player managed double-digit scoring, although Trae Young's lackluster night was the result of injury. The second-year point guard suffered an ankle injury after logging just 11 minutes and will miss multiple games.
The Hawks will be without Young for Thursday's game, as well as Allen Crabbe (knee) and Chandler Parsons (knees). Evan Turner (Achilles) will be doubtful, while De'Andre Hunter will be considered probable with a mouth injury.
Winless Pelicans Host Nuggets
By Dan Bruno
The New Orleans Pelicans play host to the Denver Nuggets, at Smoothie King Center on Thursday evening.
The Pelicans (0-4) have had a rough start to the season. They have dropped four games in a row, with two losses on the road and two at home. They have faced tough competition in each contest, beginning with their season opener in Toronto against the Raptors. The Pelicans actually out up a good fight in Toronto and forced the game to overtime before ultimately coming up short. They also put up a good fight in Houston, where they lost by three, whereas their two losses at home came by an average of 9.0 points. On the bright side, Brandon Ingram has looked great so far, as he leads the team with an average of 27.2 points per game. He also leads the team in rebounds (9.5) and blocks (1.5) per game. Lonzo Ball leads the team in assists (7.8) and steals (1.8) per game. The Pelicans are averaging 121.0 points per game, which is fifth most in the league at this stage in the season.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets (3-1) began their season with three straight wins before falling at home against the Mavericks in their most recent contest. This marks the first game of a two-game road trip for the Nuggets, while they are 2-0 on the road already this season. Jamal Murray is leading the team in scoring with 18.8 points per game, while Nikola Jokic leads the team in rebounds (12.5) and assists (6.5) per game. Torrey Craig has picked up where he left off last season as a strong defender and is averaging a team-best 2.0 blocks per game over Denver's first four games. The Nuggets are averaging 105.8 points per game, while giving up an average of 102.5 points against.
The Pelicans (0-4) have had a rough start to the season. They have dropped four games in a row, with two losses on the road and two at home. They have faced tough competition in each contest, beginning with their season opener in Toronto against the Raptors. The Pelicans actually out up a good fight in Toronto and forced the game to overtime before ultimately coming up short. They also put up a good fight in Houston, where they lost by three, whereas their two losses at home came by an average of 9.0 points. On the bright side, Brandon Ingram has looked great so far, as he leads the team with an average of 27.2 points per game. He also leads the team in rebounds (9.5) and blocks (1.5) per game. Lonzo Ball leads the team in assists (7.8) and steals (1.8) per game. The Pelicans are averaging 121.0 points per game, which is fifth most in the league at this stage in the season.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets (3-1) began their season with three straight wins before falling at home against the Mavericks in their most recent contest. This marks the first game of a two-game road trip for the Nuggets, while they are 2-0 on the road already this season. Jamal Murray is leading the team in scoring with 18.8 points per game, while Nikola Jokic leads the team in rebounds (12.5) and assists (6.5) per game. Torrey Craig has picked up where he left off last season as a strong defender and is averaging a team-best 2.0 blocks per game over Denver's first four games. The Nuggets are averaging 105.8 points per game, while giving up an average of 102.5 points against.
Clippers Play Host to Spurs on Thursday
The Los Angeles Clippers play host to the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center on Thursday.
The Spurs (3-0) were many peoples pick to fall out of the running in the Western Conference and they've surprised the skeptics yet again. This is a club that is always underrated and it's silly to assume that they'll be anything but successful at this point. While the Tim Duncan and Tony Parker days are long gone, there's still plenty of good players on this roster. The dynamic duo of LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan are obviously impressive and it pairs beautifully with this great backcourt. No one knew at the beginning of the year who would start between Derrick White, Bryn Forbes or Dejounte Murray but that trio is coming together to form one of the best backcourts in the NBA.
The Clippers (3-2) took a beatdown at the hands of the Utah Jazz in their last game on Wednesday but it's silly to consider anything from that outing. Not only is Paul George still out due to his ailing shoulders, they also chose to rest Kawhi Leonard in that defeat. Thay clearly wanted him at 100 percent for this fixture in the second half of a back-to-back and it's no surprise when you consider the opponent. This is one of the first times that Kawhi gets to face the organization that sat him and traded him before his Finals run, so he'll surely be playing with extra motivation. That's a scary thought from a player with such a lax demeanor and it'll be exciting to see what he does here in the midst of another brilliant season.
These clubs split their four-game season series last year.
The Spurs (3-0) were many peoples pick to fall out of the running in the Western Conference and they've surprised the skeptics yet again. This is a club that is always underrated and it's silly to assume that they'll be anything but successful at this point. While the Tim Duncan and Tony Parker days are long gone, there's still plenty of good players on this roster. The dynamic duo of LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan are obviously impressive and it pairs beautifully with this great backcourt. No one knew at the beginning of the year who would start between Derrick White, Bryn Forbes or Dejounte Murray but that trio is coming together to form one of the best backcourts in the NBA.
The Clippers (3-2) took a beatdown at the hands of the Utah Jazz in their last game on Wednesday but it's silly to consider anything from that outing. Not only is Paul George still out due to his ailing shoulders, they also chose to rest Kawhi Leonard in that defeat. Thay clearly wanted him at 100 percent for this fixture in the second half of a back-to-back and it's no surprise when you consider the opponent. This is one of the first times that Kawhi gets to face the organization that sat him and traded him before his Finals run, so he'll surely be playing with extra motivation. That's a scary thought from a player with such a lax demeanor and it'll be exciting to see what he does here in the midst of another brilliant season.
These clubs split their four-game season series last year.