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Given the fact that the young Hawks team made it to the Eastern Conference semi-finals last year, it is no surprise that GM Rick Sund decided to go for minor tweaks instead of a roster overhaul during the summer. Confidently heading into the 2009-10 season, Joe Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks will host the struggling Indiana Pacers at Philips Arena on Wednesday at 10 p.m. GMT.

Even though the Pacers might have had enough talent to make it to the post-season last year, things did not work out for the franchise from Indiana. Most importantly, Mike Dunleavy missed almost the entire season with a knee injury, inevitably his 19.1 points per contest were sorely missed by the Pacers. However, head coach Jim O’Brien is hoping to make it back to the playoff race with a healthy squad in 2009-10. Moreover, GM David Morway added defensive specialist Dahntay Jones from the Denver Nuggets and 13th overall pick Tyler Hansbrough.

Similarly, the Atlanta Hawks also opted to keep the core of their team intact and did little else than stealing wingman Jamal Crawford from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for two minor expiring contracts. So far, Crawford looked like an excellent fit as Atlanta finished the preseason with an impressive 5-1 record. Thus, the Hawks look like everyone’s favorite to win their home opener versus the Pacers on Wednesday night. Although the Pacers might be better than last year, they will most likely have a hard time trying to keep up with Joe Johnson and company throughout the whole 48 minutes.

You can watch all games of the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks right here on www.watchlivenba.com, the home of NBA live streaming.