Video: Pierce Addresses Media Ahead of Warriors Game
Coming off an 0-3 road trip that brought the Hawks to 4-16 on the season, Atlanta will take on the Golden State Warriors at home Monday night in a battle between the two worst teams in the NBA. The Hawks will be favored for the first time all season against the Warriors, who, at 4-17, have fallen hard from a five-year high of Finals appearances and championships.
Four of the Warriors' five best players from last season's Western Conference championship team (Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala) has been lost to injury, trade, or free agency, while new addition D'Angelo Russell has missed the last eight games and counting with a sprained right thumb. After ranking first or second in offensive efficiency for five consecutive seasons, Golden State now owns the 26th-rated offense (and 27th-ranked defense) in the NBA.
The Hawks have been even worse this season, having lost 10 games in a row -- a streak that culminated with a 47-point loss to the Rockets that dropped Atlanta to 30th in the NBA in net rating.
The Hawks have dealt with player absences of their own, though not to quite the degree Golden State has. John Collins has 10 games remaining on a 25-game suspension while Kevin Huerter has missed the last 10 contests with a sprained rotator cuff. Cam Reddish missed Saturday's game in Houston and has been in and out of the lineup since spraining his wrist two weeks ago against Milwaukee.
Reddish had an MRI Monday morning before the Hawks' shootaround, but Lloyd Pierce said that the rookie's availability for Monday's game has yet to be determined.
Huerter participated in a three-on-three scrimmage with Collins and four assistant coaches Monday morning but will not play against the Warriors. He had a minor setback late last week (additional soreness in his left shoulder) and Pierce said the plan is for Huerter to ramp up to five-on-five tomorrow. Hawks will wait to see how he feels before clearing him to play.
The team has not targeted a specific return date, though Huerter said on the Hawks' broadcast Friday that he hopes to be back at some point this week. "That's the natural plan," Pierce said. "Getting him to three-on-three, seeing how he responds, getting him to five-on-five, seeing how he responds, and go from there."
The Hawks have not won a game since Huerter's injury in Denver, but Monday night will be the most winnable game, on paper, of their season so far. Kevon Looney will be playing his first game since opening night, and none of Curry, Russell, Thompson, or Draymond Green will play. Even Jacob Evans, Golden State's only other returning player, has only played three games this year.
The Warriors will rely instead on heavy doses of Eric Paschall, Glenn Robinson III, and Jordan Poole. Though he doesn't have incandescent offensive talents to run it, Steve Kerr has largely used the same system he did for Golden State's five-year run of dominance. The team relies heavily on ball and player movement, with plenty of cuts and screens away from the ball to occupy a defense's attention.
"They still have the same type of movement," Pierce said. "It's not the names they're used to seeing, but they're still doing the same thing and they're doing it probably with a greater pace. Just the talent level is a little bit different."
Damian Jones, who spent the first three seasons of his career in Golden State, says the Warriors will still be tough to guard even without elite shot-makers because of their movement.
"They move the ball well," Jones said. "So regardless of if they're running plays or not, they're constantly moving, so it makes it tough on defense. You've just always got to be aware, communicating with my teammates on what's going on."
