Open Thread: Preseason Game 6 vs. Atlanta Hawks

The Essentials:

Wizards (19-63 last season) vs. Hawks (47-35)
7:00 p.m.
Phillips Arena
TV: None
Radio: 106.7 The Fan

Notable Hawks numbers last season

13th in expected winning percentage (.556)
24th in pace (89.6 possessions per game)
10th in offensive efficiency/offensive rating (109.3)
12th in defensive efficiency/defensive rating (107.6)

Pre-game links

Peachtree Hoops, SB Nation's Atlanta Hawks blog
Hoopinion, a Hawks blog
Peachtree Hoops game thread
Hawks Blog with Sekou Smith, one of the best newspaper beat writers this game has
Sekou Smith: The Hawks are Ready For Business
Competition Discussion: Atlanta Hawks
Michael Lee: Brendan Haywood to play tonight, Antawn Jamison progressing, Javaris Crittenton still out
GameDay Atlanta

Dave Johnson is reporting that Gilbert Arenas is out tonight due to flu-like symptoms. I'm worried he caught it from LeBron and the Cavs. Atlanta seems like they've got their full crew together, so this should be an interesting preseason test against a team the Wizards will likely be competing for playoff positioning all season.

I'm excited to figure out how much the return of Brendan Haywood helps the defense. The Wizards' defense hasn't shown all that much improvement in the preseason thus far, but obviously having no Haywood since the Dallas game is a HUGE caveat. Atlanta is a good team with a decent, if ugly-looking offense, so this should be a good test to see where that defense is at. It's also good because Atlanta has some three-point shooters like Bibby, Johnson, Williams and Jamal Crawford off the bench. This will be a test for the three-point defense as well.

Also, let's hope for more Nick Young tonight. He hasn't shot well, but there is still time left for him to wrestle that starting shooting guard away from either Mike Miller or DeShawn Stevenson.

This is an open game thread, so let's hope that nothing can stop us!

GO WIZARDS!