The Atlanta Hawks' chances of snapping their losing streak at four just got a little more difficult. The Hawks announced prior to the game that C/F Al Horford will not dress for Saturday night's matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Horford aggravated his sore ankle in a collision with Luol Deng in Friday night's embarrassing 94-76 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Friday night at the United Center. To say that Hawks coach Larry Drew shook up the lineup with Horford out is an understatement.
Jeff Teague will get the start at point guard with Kirk Hinrich sliding over to the two. Joe Johnson will start at small forward while Josh Smith gets the nod at his power forward position. Zaza Pachulia takes over for Horford at center.
Atlanta's looking for whatever spark they can get out of their sputtering offense, which ranks near the bottom of the league of late. They must remain aggressive and push the ball at a talented Portland team if they are to have much of a chance in this one.
The Hawks tip off against the Blazers at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. The game is on SportSouth and 97.9 FM.