When/where: 3:30 p.m. today, Philips Arena
TV: Fox Sports Southeast
Stream: Fox Sports Go
Radio: 92.9 The Game
Injuries: Hawks—Ersan Ilyasova (knee), DeAndre' Bembry (wrist) and Miles Plumlee (quad) are out; Dennis Schroder (ankle) and Marco Belinelli (Achilles) are probable.
Bucks—Jabari Parker (knee) is out.
What to watch for: The Hawks (1-5) have lost five straight games since opening the season with a victory at Dallas. All of the losses with the exception of one (at Charlotte) followed a familiar pattern: the Hawks came back from a deficit to tie or take a lead in the fourth quarter before fading at the finish.
Is frustration setting in for the Hawks?
"I think there is an appropriate amount of frustration," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "It’s to be expected. We are all competitive. We want to find a way to finish. We want to find a way to win a game. But I don’t think it’s across the line or in a bad place. We all just want to be better, the coaches—starting with myself--and players. Can we be better and find a way to make a couple more plays and put us in a better position to close the game?"
The Hawks have dealt with some significant injuries early in the season. In addition to losing rotation wing Bembry after the first game, starters Schroder and Ilyasova have missed multiple games. Ilyasova is out again today after playing against the Nuggets on Friday.
Hawks guard Kent Bazemore also cited the difficult opening schedule as a factor in the struggles.
"It's rough when you travel over 5,000 miles and got to open (at home) n a back-to-back," he said after the Hawks lost to the Nuggets on Friday . "And we came from Chicago and lost an hour of sleep. It's been a tough little stretch but we are going the best we can and that's all you can really ask for. We are fighting and we are trying to make the right plays. We are growing. That's the encouraging thing about it all.:
The Bucks (3-2) are led by do-everything wing Giannis Antetokounmpo. According to Elias Sports Bureau, he is the first he first player in NBA history to average at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and five assists over his first five games of a season. Elias says only four players have done so over any five-game stretch in the past 10 seasons.
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