The Atlanta Hawks suffered a lopsided defeat on Friday evening, falling at the hands of the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City. Just 24 hours later, the Hawks face another significant challenge with a visit to Portland to take on the Trail Blazers on short rest.
Portland will be adapting to a new reality in this game, after starting center Jusuf Nurkic suffered a fractured wrist earlier this week. That absence, in conjunction with the injury to Zach Collins, leaves the Blazers short-handed on the interior, though the backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum could make life difficult for Atlanta.