In what could be an NBA Finals Preview, the Atlanta Hawks face the… wait a minute! That is not how this is supposed to go!

Fickle ATLiens and NBA fans alike are glancing at the win-loss columns and standing on their heads to make sure they’re looking at them right: maybe that’s why they’re called “standings.” Carmelo and the Knicks in the basement of the Eastern Conference? Jeff Teague and the Hawks at the top? Check the forearms of sports fans around town for pinch marks, because a lot of people have to be convinced they’re not dreaming.

R. Kelly’s “Bump N’ Grind” was slow-jamming the airwaves the last time the Hawks were perched atop the East this far into the season, at the end of a fateful 1993-94 regular season with Danny Manning momentarily leading the way. I don’t see nothin’ wrong with a lil’ six-game road streak, but to do that the Hawks (24-8) need to keep the good vibes rolling tonight against a Portland Trail Blazers team (10:00 PM Eastern, SportSouth, CSN Northwest) that’s been pretty darn good in their own right.

Following a litany of missteps and bad breaks over the years, Portland was in a similar spot as the Hawks last season. Former Hawks coach Terry Stotts was Dead Coach Walking coming off of a 33-49 season that included 13 straight losses to close out 2012-13. Then the Blazers offense suddenly gelled around second-year guard Damian Lillard and a rejuvenated LaMarcus Aldridge, rattling off 11 straight wins in November 2013 and a 20-2 run that extended into December.

The Blazers never looked back, building a 54-win season and a momentous upset of the Rockets in the playoffs before falling in the second round to the eventual NBA champs. Now, Stotts is hoping to nail down half of last season’s victory tally tonight against the team that canned him back in 2004. Portland (26-7, 1 game behind Western 1-seed Golden State) has had three days of rest and watched the Hawks (24-8, a half game ahead of Toronto in the East) defeat the Jazz in Salt Lake last night.

It’s reasonable to suggest that no NBA team was more successful against the teams Mike Budenholzer fielded in 2013-14 than the Trail Blazers. Portland was the only NBA team to defeat the Hawks by double-digit deficits in all of their matchups last season (102-78 in Portland, 100-85 in Atlanta). They were notable as the team that ganged up on Kyle Korver to thwart his record-shattering Threak. The Hawks shot a season-low 33.0 FG% (14.8 3FG%) last March in Portland, and were only marginally better back home a few weeks later (40.5 FG%, 18.2 3FG%) while Korver and Pero Antić sat out with injuries.

The Blazers’ competitive philosophy is, essentially, no one is allowed to do to them what they do to other teams. Portland’s aggressive wing players (Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum) shoo anyone and everyone off the three-point line (opponents’ 17.7 attempts per game, 2^nd-lowest in NBA; 5.2 opponent 3FGs and 29.1 3FG%, lowest in NBA). Foes are shooting just 29.1% on threes above-the-break with Batum on the floor.

Meanwhile, Matthews (7.6 3FGAs per game) and Lillard (7.1 per game) rank second and fourth, respectively, in three-pointers shot, with the former (40.2 3FG% for Matthews) leading the league in made treys. They hope to neutralize the Hawks offense, in part, by keeping Korver off-balance all night.

The three days of rest for Portland were particularly helpful for the recuperation of Aldridge (22.9 PPG, 8^th in NBA; 10.7 RPG, 7^th in NBA; 7.2 TO%, 9^th-lowest in NBA; career-high 1.3 BPG and 46.9 3FG%), who had missed a few games around Christmastime while dealing with a respiratory illness. LMA had 25 points and 16 rebounds at Atlanta last March 27, but shot 1-for-13 FGs at home versus the Hawks on March 5.

Among the top prizes in the free agency period this summer, Aldridge will engage tonight in a mid-range shooting duel with Al Horford. Aldridge hits an NBA-high 4.7 mid-range field goals per game, and while Horford takes about half as many, he has been hitting them with better accuracy (46.5 mid-range FG%) than Aldridge (41.1 mid-range FG%).

The Blazers have been hurting on the rebounding end as starting center Robin Lopez remains out for another 3-5 weeks healing a broken hand, and backup Meyers Leonard remains questionable with a shoulder strain. The Hawks rested Pero Antić against Utah and he’ll be available to help seal off the interior and keep Atlanta from falling behind in the rebounding battle. Replacement starter Joel Freeland (13.0 RPG in his last 3 games) and Chris Kaman are holding the fort in Lopez’s and Meyers’ absence.

Paul Millsap shot poorly last night from the field but has been earning trips to the free throw line lately and making the most of it. Going 29-for-31 in his last five games has pushed Millsap’s free throw percentage above 70 percent. He’ll be particularly useful in forcing the action on the interior against a Blazer team that gives up 45.5 points-in the-paint per game (6^th-most in NBA) and 14.1 second-chance PPG (4^th-most in NBA).

Jeff Teague (7.0 APG, 10^th in NBA) carried the Hawks offense last evening and hopefully will have enough in the tank to go up against Lillard (21.9 PPG, 10^th in NBA), who's eager to show why he deserves a hard-to-get Western Conference All-Star bid. Teague, Dennis Schröder and a rested Shelvin Mack should be able to run out on the Blazer guards to key fast break opportunities.

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3