An Eastern Conference showdown will take place this Tuesday when last season's conference-leading Atlanta Hawks host the Detroit Pistons at the Philips Arena.
The Hawks stunned the basketball world last season when they took over the Eastern Conference and became legit contenders despite playing without a superstar player.
Because of their performance, four of Atlanta's starters, namely point guard Jeff Teague, shooting guard Kyle Korver, and big men Al Horford and Paul Millsap became part of the East All-Stars for the 2015 All-Star game held in February.
The Hawks' campaign last season ended in a tough sweep loss in the conference finals handed by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Now, in the offseason, Atlanta improved its roster with key additions guard Tim Hardaway Jr. and champion center Tiago Splitter.
Hardaway was traded from the New York Knicks where he spent his first two seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), while Splitter came from the Spurs where he won a championship in 2014.
Meanwhile, the Pistons lost a key player in the offseason when big man Greg Monroe decided to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks.
But Andre Drummond is still with the team that brought in a number of quality players in the offseason to help him.
These players were forward Ersan Ilyasova (traded from the Bucks), center Aron Bynes (free agent signing), point guard Steve Blake (traded from the Brooklyn Nets), forward Stanley Johnson (drafted eighth-overall this 2015), and forward Marcus Morris (traded from the Phoenix Suns).
Last season, Detroit had a winning run which saw the team become a potential playoff contender until it was derailed when point guard Brandon Jennings injured his Achilles tendon, which ruled him out for the rest of the year.
The game between the Hawks and Pistons will be played on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 8:00 p.m. EST. To watch via live stream click here.
