Tara talks to Jeff Siegel of peachtreehoops.com and earlybirdrights.com (and formerly on blazersedge.com) to preview the Portland Trail Blazers upcoming game against the Atlanta Hawks. Follow him on twitter @jgsiegel, @earlybirdrights.

00:30 The Atlanta Hawks have had an up-and-down season so far. For most of the season they have had pretty good luck in opponents three point shooting but opponents are starting to shoot well from beyond the arc now. Trae Young has looked good and John Collins did too before he got suspended for 25 games.

3:00 Biggest strength of the team is Trae Young. He is one of the top passers in the league and also has good shooting streaks. They have depth and play a deep rotation but the players are not high caliber yet. 

4:30 People who have length and can blitz have the most success against Trae Young. Once you get the ball out of his hands there are not too many other options. 

6:30 The team did not fight the NBA about John Collins’ suspension. He will be back in December. 

9:00 Kevin Hurter may be the starting shooting guard, Siegel wishes that he was. Jabari Parker has been the second best player on the team, he’s rolling and dunking and shooting some threes. Their defense is shakey. He has no idea who Trae Young is going to guard. 

12:00 Both teams are relying on their guards because they are thin or underwhelming in the front court. The Hawks have three centers but they are not very strong.

14:00 Trae does not seem to be the same kind of leader as Lillard, although he is very good leading on the court. Vince Carter and Evan Turner have been solid locker room vets.

16:00 Checking in on Allen Crabbe. People were looking forward to him coming in to provide shooting off the bench, but he’s been out all season with a knee injury. It will be interesting to see how he fits into the rotation when he comes back because the rotation is already really deep. Evan Turner has been backup point guard but he has only played three games due to achilles soreness. 

18:45 Blazers should be favorites, Portland’s defensive style should be effective against Trae Young.

Find Jeff’s work at earlybirdrights.com and peachtreehoops.com (and formerly on blazersedge.com). Follow him on twitter @jgsiegel, @earlybirdrights.

Follow us on Twitter @blazersedge, @DMarang, @tcbbiggs 

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