Photo credit: Brett Davis – USA Today Sports
This is the week Atlanta Hawks fans have been waiting for since last years tumultuous season ended. They are moving into a brand new arena with a new coach and a roster full of young guys excited about making their mark in the NBA.
Here is what the first week of the regular season will look like for the Hawks. We aren’t sure if the Hawks starting their season on the road is a result of making sure Arena renovations were completely finished or not but either way, these first two games should be a good test for these young Hawks.
10/17 – @ New York Knicks, 7:30pm
What a great way to kick off the new season under the big lights of the big apple. The Hawks open up their season on the road against the New York Knicks. The Hawks will be without the services of John Collins, Dwayne Dedmon and probably Justin Anderson as well. Look for Vince Carter and Alex Prothress to fill in for in Collins absence.
It is doubtful that Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis will play in this game but a player to watch in this game is Knicks rookie Kevin Knox. He should get plenty of minutes with the absence of Porzingis.
10/19 – @ Memphis Grizzlies, 8:00pm
This is not your Grizzlies team from last year, expect this team to be its usual scrappy, blue-collar, defensive minded team. Mike Conley has looked healthy this preseason and it will be a good match-up for Tre Young to see what hard nosed defense looks like. It will also be a chance to take a look at Grizzlies rookie Jaren Jackson Jr.
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