The Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks are leading the Western and Eastern Conference, respectively, and tonight's showdown serves as a potential Finals preview. Golden State has won seven of their last eight games, while Atlanta has won four of their last five games.
Projected Starting Lineups
Golden State Warriors (53-13)
G Stephen Curry – 23.5 ppg, 7.8 apg, 2.1 spg
G Justin Holiday – 4.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg
F Harrison Barnes – 10.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg
F Draymond Green – 11.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg
C Andrew Bogut – 6.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg
Atlanta Hawks (53-14)
G Jeff Teague – 16.6 ppg, 7.2 apg
G Kent Bazemore – 5.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg
F DeMarre Carroll – 12.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg
F Paul Millsap – 16.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg
C Al Horford – 15.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg
What to watch for:
Who deals with injuries better?
Both teams will be playing without their starting shooting guards - Klay Thompson (GS) and Kyle Korver (ATL). Thompson is Golden State's second best player, while Korver's shooting ability spaces the floor for Atlanta and gives them a lethal punch from the outside. Whoever is able to make up for their loss will have a major advantage.
Which bench provides a bigger spark?
The Warriors and Hawks have two of the best starting lineups in the league, but what separates their rosters from the rest of the NBA is the production they get from their bench. Both teams rely on this spark, so whoever gets more from their bench will win this game.
Prediction: Warriors win 108-107
This game is going to be extremely close between two evenly matched teams, but I ultimately can't pick against the Warriors at home, where they've lost just twice this year.
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