Suns vs. Hawks Preview
Atlanta, GA – Atlanta Hawks leading scorer Joe Johnson is struggling, but first-year coach Larry Drew has plenty of other offensive options to choose from. If the game’s on the line, the Phoenix Suns know Jamal Crawford will likely be at the top of that list.
Looking to open 7-0 for the first time in 13 years, the Hawks go for their 15th consecutive victory at Philips Arena on Sunday when they face a Suns team coming off a much-needed win.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made the Hawks –6 point spread favorites for Sunday’s game against the Suns. Current NBA Public Betting Information shows that 67% of more than 638 bets for this game have been placed on the Hawks -6.
Johnson has topped the Hawks in scoring each season since arriving in 2005-06 following 3 1/2 years with the Suns, and again leads Atlanta with 18.2 points per game. The four-time All-Star, though, is averaging 13.3 points on 30.6 percent shooting in three contests this month.
“In the past we’ve struggled if he hasn’t shot the ball well,” Drew said after Johnson went 4 of 13 and scored a season-low 11 in a 113-103 victory at Minnesota on Friday. “I think it just goes to show our depth.”
Atlanta was 14-8 in 2009-10 when Johnson shot 40 percent or less. The Hawks have won all four times this season when he’s been below that mark.
While the Hawks’ success is due in part to the level of competition – their opponents were 8-25 heading into Saturday – the team’s balance has helped it move within one win of its best start since it was 11-0 in 1997-98.
Six Hawks are averaging double figures in points, and the team has two of the league’s top young rebounders in Al Horford (career-high 10.2 per game) and Josh Smith, who is averaging 9.2 and a league-best 4.2 blocks.
“Guys are always stepping up, always filling positions,” Crawford said Wednesday after scoring a season-high 22 points following a one-game absence due to a toe injury.
Crawford, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, is averaging 17.0 of his club’s 35.5 points per game off the bench.
The Suns witnessed the spark Crawford provides in their last game in Atlanta. He scored 21 in that Jan. 15 matchup, hitting a 28-footer at the buzzer to give the Hawks a 102-101 win as they rallied from a four-point deficit with 10 seconds left.
Phoenix (2-3) is coming off an even more remarkable comeback. Trailing Memphis by four with 3.7 seconds left in regulation, Jason Richardson scored five of his season-high 38 points in the final 1.1 seconds of the fourth quarter – including a buzzer-beating tip-in – in a 123-118 double-overtime victory Friday.
Newcomer Hedo Turkoglu, who has taken over for the departed Amare Stoudemire, turned in an encouraging performance with five 3-pointers and a season-high 18 points versus Memphis.
“He’s getting there,” coach Alvin Gentry said. “You’ve got to understand, he’s playing a brand new position (power forward).”
Steve Nash matched a season-high with nine assists Friday, but failed to reach 10 in his first five games for the first time since 1999-2000.
The two-time MVP has averaged 18.5 points and 12.0 assists in his last four games in Atlanta.
Suns swingman Josh Childress plays his first game at Philips Arena since the Hawks’ Game 6 loss to Boston in the 2008 Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Childress, the sixth overall pick by Atlanta in 2004, played his first four seasons with the Hawks before spending the last two in Greece.
Atlanta’s last home loss was 111-103 in overtime to Dallas on Feb. 26.