Brooklyn Nets vs Atlanta Hawks Prediction: The Nets continue to chase the leaders

Brooklyn and Atlanta are in the top-6 in the East, and it would seem that their encounter should be intriguing. The Nets have a lot of roster losses right now, so a win against the Nets would be a sensation. Will the Hawks be able to surprise?

The Nets are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with five wins in their last six games, but Ben Simmons has missed four due to injury. Now the Australian playmaker is ready to step on the floor, while only Yuta Watanabe remains in the infirmary, who has been a big part of Brooklyn's rotation this season. Patty Mills isn't even in the rotation anymore, though he would come in handy for many playoff contenders.

Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant combined for 62 points in the last game against Charlotte, and Brooklyn won 122:116. Joe Harris, Seth Curry, and Markieff Morris shot well from beyond the arc, making up for Royce O'Neale's misses.

The Hawks lost their last two regular-season games and are 6th in the NL East. Overall, the team has handled the loss of John Collins and Deandre Hunter pretty well, but Atlanta will have an even more challenging time now. Dejounte Murray will miss about two weeks due to injury, and he was the reason the Hawks played good defense at the arc. On offense, we can still play without Murray as A.J. Griffin is playing well, Bogdan Bogdanovic has recently returned to form, and Deandre Hunter should be back on track for the game with Brooklyn. Trae Young will return to his comfortable role as the only playmaker and may become more effective.

Murray's absence has already hurt the Nets' defense in their recent game against New York. The team lost 89:111 and allowed 17 three-pointers on 47.2 percent shooting. Young showed nothing outstanding on offense, Griffin and Bogdanovic failed, and 6-of-7 from the game from Clint Capela wasn't enough to even avoid a defeat. Young showed nothing special, so Atlanta had no one to pull the game while three of the starting five's basketball players were in the infirmary.

Brooklyn is playing much worse on defense without Ben Simmons, and the 116 points against Charlotte in the last game proved that. The Australian is healthy now, and Atlanta might be easier to beat than the Hornets. Some incredible performance can only save the Hawks from Trae Young, and that's still a possibility. The Hawks need to actively spread out opposing defenders and leave Irving on the ball; then Young will have a chance to create some momentum on offense. Without the help of the role-players, however, their chances of winning would be slim, so the Nets are the clear favorites for a reason.

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