When: 7:00 PM EST; Wednesday, April 29th, 2015
Where: Phillips Arena; Atlanta, GA
TV: TNT/YES
The beauty of the best-of-seven series is how, through four games, a No. 1 seed can dominate at home and a No. 8 seed can barely squeak by on its home floor and the end result is a 2-2 tie with a minimum of two and maximum of three more contests left to go.
That’s the situation the Nets are in right now with the Hawks, as they looked competent in Games 1 and 2 in Atlanta but never had enough to get over the hump for a win that would give Brooklyn homecourt advantage. Then, even though they almost blew each game, the Nets took both games at Barclays to make tonight’s Game 5 in Atlanta a potential series swing game.
If Brooklyn steals the victory, the Nets can head home with the stunning chance of sending the 60-win Hawks home in just six games. However, if Atlanta holds court on its home floor, they just need to either win at Barclays in Game 6 or even win at Phillips Arena in the decisive Game 7.
Obviously, the Nets would rather not give the Hawks a chance to get back home once again. That’s why Game 5 is a crucial one for them to have in so, so many ways. They need to continue to shut down Kyle Korver (4-18 from three in last two games) and allow Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder to dominate possessions instead of Al Horford and Paul Millsap (as SB Nation’s Mike Prada smartly wrote about).
Probable Lineups
BKN- Deron Williams (PG), Bojan Bogdanovic (SG), Joe Johnson (SF), Thaddeus Young (PF), Brook Lopez (C)
ATL- Jeff Teague (PG), Kyle Korver (SG), DeMarre Carroll (SF), Paul Millsap (PF), Al Horford (C)
Final Thoughts
This is not going to be as easy a game for the Nets as Games 3 and 4 were. The Hawks are back home, are angry and need to prove to themselves and the rest of the country that they’re as good as their record indicates. The Nets need to throw as close to a perfect game as possible if they are going to head back to Barclays with a 3-2 series lead.
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