The Hawks and Nuggets play tonight, in a game that I expect to be one of the more entertaining contests you'll see at Philips Arena this season.

Denver likes to run - they average 107.1 points per game, good enough for 4th in the league - and are coming off a 119-116 loss to Charlotte last night. This plays into the Hawks hands, as we can all agree they are at their best when getting out in the open floor and beating the defense to the basket. Still, according to Hawks coach Alton Lister in today's Breaking Down the Nuggets segment, the Hawks have to make defense a priority against a team that can score as quickly as Denver.

Guards that penetrate have given Atlanta huge fits this season, so I expect AI to have a pretty good game tonight. The question to me is, can we hold Carmelo in check enough to limit the damage? We have defenders in Josh Smith and Joe Johnson who can bother him at least a little, but if the Nuggets get 60+ from the two of them, the Hawks will be in trouble.

The other issue for tonight is going to be how to deal with Marcus Camby. Camby's length is going to be a problem for the Hawks, though they will have Zaza Pachulia back tonight after missing a few games with an ingrown toenail. Camby had a huge game last night in Charlotte, scoring 20 points and grabbing 23 rebounds to go with 6 blocks as well. I'm not worried as much about his shot blocking and his scoring as most of our inside baskets come off the break, but I am definitely worried about his offensive rebounding.

The Nuggets should be tired at least a little after last night's game in Charlotte, but will be itching to get back in the win column after a loss. Overall, they have been playing very well of late, winning 7 of 10.

JJ and the boys will need to come out smoking like they did on Sunday against Chicago. If they can build a nice lead in the first half, hopefully Denver's tired legs will make it harder for them to mount a comeback.

A win tonight will give the Hawks a 3-2 record in the recent home stand, and get the team back to .500 (officially that is, since we can't count the win over Miami for the time being) before they begin a stretch of 7 out of 8 on the road.

Look for the team to come out and do what they do best, and hopefully their fresh legs will carry the day.

See you there!