Hawks at Mavericks
The Atlanta Hawks figure to be one of the most active teams in advance of the trade deadline next month and are already fielding offers on several of their veteran players. The Dallas Mavericks, who host the Hawks on Saturday, have some attractive veterans on the roster as well and are languishing at the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
Atlanta is reportedly involved in the first big deal of the trading season, with former All-Star shooting guard Kyle Korver heading to the defending-champion Cleveland Cavaliers. "There's definitely mixed emotions," Korver told reporters after a 99-94 win at New Orleans on Thursday, before the deal was finalized. "There's a lot of hard ties to Atlanta, for a lot of reasons. A lot of friendships, relationships. It's where I had my best basketball years, honestly. It's where I had all my kids. It's hard to leave that behind. Obviously it's a great opportunity for me to go to Cleveland. So I'm very excited about that part of it." The Mavericks are still tinkering with their rotation and trying to get everybody healthy before deciding to start moving pieces. Veteran center Andrew Bogut, who was moved to the bench with Dirk Nowitzki sliding over to the starting center spot, could be the first to leave town if the team doesn't pick up the pace soon.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Atlanta), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (20-16): Rumors started last weekend that Atlanta was willing to listen to offers on Korver, swingman Thabo Sefolosha and All-Star power forward Paul Millsap despite an uptick in play that includes five straight wins. The Hawks brought in All-Star center Dwight Howard over the summer and got off to a great start before hitting a rough patch that included losses in 10 of 11 games bridging November and December. "I think guys are pretty hurt about it," Howard told reporters when news of the Korver trade broke on Thursday. "On one hand, you're going to be happy for him going to a really good team. On the other hand, it's like, ‘Dang, he's going to a really good team.' I am curious to see what his handshake will be. A lot of those guys give really good handshakes."
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (11-25): Dallas won in Bogut's first game coming off the bench but followed it up with a 102-95 home loss to lowly Phoenix on Thursday as Nowitzki managed 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting as a starter and Bogut did not record a point or a rebound in 20 minutes off the bench. "Obviously, I've said that we want to compete and we want to make the playoffs," Nowitzki told ESPN. "If that means I'm the 10th man, so be it. We've got to try to figure out what we've got and win some games and make a run. If that's what this team needs to win some games." Nowitzki is still working his way back into shape after an Achilles injury and is 12-of-35 from the floor in the last three games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hawks SG Tim Hardaway Jr. is averaging 18.3 points over the last three games and is 12-of-18 from 3-point range in that span.
2. Mavericks SG Seth Curry scored in double figures in three straight and nine of the last 11 contests.
3. Atlanta took the past five in the series, including the last two in Dallas.