After a nail-biting loss in San Antonio, another hold-on-to-your-seat game is hopefully in store for fans of your Atlanta Hawks, hosting the L.A. Clippers this evening (7:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, FSN Prime Ticket).

Formerly with the Celtics until they read the writing on the wall, several ex-Hawks (Clippers Head Coach Doc Rivers and his assistants, Armond Hill and Tyronn Lue) will patrol the sideline as the group formerly known as “That Other L.A. Team” embarks on a seven-game road swing over the next week, including a visit to their old stomping grounds in Boston next Wednesday. They’d like to build some positive momentum going into Beantown, beginning tonight at the Highlight Factory if the Hawks allow.

Their 105-100 loss at Staples on Sunday to the buzzsawing Pacers clipped the 12-6 Clips’ four-game winning streak. It was their first game absent J.J. Redick, who will be out of action over the next month-and-a-half with a fractured shooting hand and ligament tears in his wrist. Another ex-Hawk, Willie Green, started versus Indiana and was unimpressive (1-for-5 shooting in 15 minutes, 2 points), but he’ll continue to start, presumably for defensive reasons.

Of course, Green is simply the warm-up act at shooting guard. Our other old friend, Jamal Crawford, led the Clips with 20 points (6-for-19 shooting, just 1-for-6 on threes). This followed a season-high of 38 points on Friday in an overtime win at Sacramento, adding 11 assists with star guard Chris Paul (NBA-leading 12.1 APG) missing the contest to rest a strained hammy.

Offseason additions to the roster (Redick, Jared Dudley, B.J. Mullens, and Antawn Jamison) posed the likelihood that Chris Paul would be able to diversify the offense from lobs for Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan to pick-and-pop options all around the perimeter. So far, that element of Doc’s offensive game plan hasn’t produced a lot of points.

Absent The Redickulous One, only Jamal (2.2 threes made per game) connects on more than 1.5 per game, and L.A. could connect on only 4 of 15 shots against the feisty Pacer D. The Clippers rank sixth in three-point attempts, but connect on a pedestrian 34.3 percent of them (19^th in NBA), including just 32.2% above-the-break (25^th in NBA). The Hawks’ defenders would do well to keep L.A.’s shooters away from the corners (39.8 corner 3FG%), something Atlanta has struggled to accomplish recently (44.0 opponent corner 3FG%, 6^th highest in NBA).

CP3 is relying more on drives to the hoop, teammates cutting, and of course the garden-variety jams from Jordan and Griffin (2^nd and 4^th in dunks, respectively). The Clippers shoot a league-high 67.9% on shots in the restricted area, requiring the Hawks to help with strips and deflections at the rim, like they did fairly well versus the Spurs.

In addition, Paul ranks second only to Steph Curry on scoring off pull-up jumpers (10.4 PPG). Crawford ranks 8^th in the league (8.0 PPG), and he ranks 3^rd in field goal percentage off these shots (44.5 FG%).

On Monday, the Hawks’ spirited effort to get back into the Spurs game and hang on for a rare victory in San Antonio fell short at the hands of the sage Tim Duncan. They return for a stretch of seven games at home over their next eight, interrupted midway with another trip to Madison Square Garden. A good deal of star power graces the Factory over the next couple weeks, as CP3 and Blake will be followed by Kyrie on Friday, KD on Tuesday, and the fairly-hot John Wall on Friday. When they return from the Knicks game, they may also have Kobe lying-in-wait on the Monday after next.

Atlanta may get Kyle Korver back tonight. It’s quite possible the plan all along was to rest Kyle’s ribs so he’ll have a chance to match, and break, Dana Barros’ record three-point shooting game streak during this four game homestand. But are the Clippers the suitable team to extend the streak against? L.A. opponents are shooting just 33.1% this season on threes (3^rd lowest in NBA). Chris Paul’s defensive mastery is noteworthy. But while Darren Collison has not been effective offensively, opponents are shooting a league-low 22.1 3FG% on above-the-break threes when he’s on the floor.

Al Horford, in particular, needs to establish deep-post position on Jordan and attack the rim with impunity. Jordan (2^nd in NBA with 12.8 RPG, 5^th with 2.2 BPG) gives up the fourth most field goals per game at the rim (4.9 opponent FGM), at the highest percentage of anyone in the top 15 for that stat.

Jordan also ranks 4^th in personal fouls per game, so it would behoove the Hawks to draw contact from Jordan and leave him making his stinkfaces from the bench. Sitting Jordan forces Rivers to rely on the more defensively-challenged Ryan Hollins, Mullens, and Jamison upfront, and on more long-desired defensive assertiveness from Griffin.

Is the reticent Jeff Teague’s hesitancy and struggles from three-point territory a thing of the past? He sunk a season high three triples on just four shots against San Antonio, including a clutch game-tying shot near the closing seconds of the game. Teague (24.5 3FG%, 41.1% in the 2012 playoffs) had not connected on more than three of these shots, cumulatively, in his prior eleven games. He’ll need to forgo his squirrel-in-the-street tendencies and loft up a few more of his catch-and-shoot opportunities, especially late in the shot clock.

Where Atlanta’s leading scorer (17.4 PPG) is making hay is at the free throw line, earning 6.6 shots per game, well more than double the 2.8 per game of his past two seasons. In his past nine games, Jeff has shot 41-for-45, just five attempts per game but at a reliable 91.1%. To keep up with the Clippers’ high-octane offense (110.4 points per 100 possesions, 4^th in NBA), the Hawks will need Teague (88.4 FT% at home) to boost the volume at the charity stripe, as Atlanta (9-10) is just 2-6 when he shoots five or fewer free throws.

The Clippers have been living right in the free throw department. Opponents are taking 27.3 shots per game from the line (3^rd most in NBA), but hitting just 71.9% (5^th lowest in NBA). It might just be they’re smart enough to know who, and when, to foul. Like Teague, Horford (64.8 FT%) and Paul Millsap (career-low 62.5 FT%) must make the Clippers’ pay for their heavy-handedness. After getting at least two trips to the free throw line in his first nine games, Horford has registered zero attempts in five of his last ten. One of Al’s career-defining games was in 2011 against then-rookie Griffin (minus Jamal, who was on our side with 34 points), when he sunk two free throws to tie and win the game, after getting fouled hard by Griffin on a last-second drive-and-dunk attempt.

Tough shooting outing in San Antonio aside, Millsap has a little mini-Korver streak of his own going. His 2-for-6 from long-range made it four straight games with at least one 3-pointer, certainly a first in his eight-year career. Barely a month into this season, he’s shooting 13-for-31 (41.9 3FG%), matching his career-high total makes from last season in Utah (13-for-39). There’s little risk that he’ll catch Smoovitis, but he and fellow former Jazzman DeMarre Carroll have been doing everything they can to spread opposing defenses out in Korver’s absence. Carroll (22-for-67, but 4-for-7 in the last two games after a six-game stretch shooting 3-for-18) also surpassed last year’s career-high for treys (20) in the Spurs game.

Go Hawks!

~lw3