After a near-week long break, the Hawks return to action on Friday night, with two Eastern Conference opponents lined up.
Through 25 games, the Atlanta Hawks sit at 14-11, placing them in a three-way tie for seventh place in the Eastern Conference. This season has been intense. In the East, seeds 3-9 are separated by just one game.
Knowing this, Atlanta must come into the weekend prepared for battle. They have two important matchups lined up, both against teams who have massively outperformed expectations in different ways.
The first matchup of the weekend comes against the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. This will be Atlanta's third game against the red-hot Pistons this season and the second at Little Caesar's Arena.
Despite success elsewhere, the Hawks have not matched up well against the Detroit Pistons this season. To be fair, not many teams have. They are alone at the top in the Eastern Conference, sitting at 19-5 on the year.
Since Atlanta is 0-2 against them this year, they will need to give this one their all. Detroit would clinch the season-series against Atlanta if they were to come away with a win.
Many expect the Pistons to eventually come back down to Earth, and when they do, it will be important that the Hawks did not dig themselves into too deep of a hole to climb out of.
Cade Cunningham has been the engine to Detroit's success this season, and it will be important for Atlanta to force him into uncomfortable looks. On the season, Cunningham is averaging over 27 points per game, placing him firmly within the race for MVP.
He is a guy who has simply had his way with the Hawks this season. Despite how the rest of the night had gone, he has never had an issue getting to his spots in late-game scenarios. In simpler terms, Cunningham has looked like Dyson Daniels' kryptonite.
After the matchup against Detroit, the Hawks will be returning home to take on the Philadelphia 76ers. If this one is anything like the last one, fans are in store for a quality basketball game.
In the only matchup of the season so far between the Hawks and 76ers, the game went to double-overtime, where Atlanta ended up scraping by for the victory.
Jalen Johnson had a career night with 41 points and 14 rebounds, while Philadelphia's Tyrese Maxey recorded 44 points and 9 assists. It was one for the ages, and viewers should expect to see a similar level of intensity on Sunday.
This upcoming weekend is an important one for Atlanta: a chance to face their demons and feed off of momentum. Two wins here would push the Hawks to 16-11 on the season, cementing themselves as a true contender in the East.