Atlanta, GA
Orlando and Atlanta square off for conference showdown
Atlanta Hawks (37-41, eighth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Orlando Magic (38-40, seventh in the Eastern Conference)
Orlando, Florida; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Atlanta Hawks take on Franz Wagner and the Orlando Magic in Eastern Conference action Tuesday.
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The Magic have gone 28-20 against Eastern Conference teams. Orlando leads the NBA allowing just 105.6 points per game while holding opponents to 46.8% shooting.
The Hawks are 27-21 in Eastern Conference play. Atlanta gives up 119.8 points to opponents and has been outscored by 1.8 points per game.
The Magic average 11.1 made 3-pointers per game this season, 3.1 fewer makes per game than the Hawks allow (14.2). The Hawks average 12.4 more points per game (118.0) than the Magic give up to opponents (105.6).
TOP PERFORMERS: Wagner is shooting 46.3% and averaging 24.2 points for the Magic. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
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Dyson Daniels is averaging 14.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists and three steals for the Hawks. Trae Young is averaging 24.4 points over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Magic: 7-3, averaging 109.0 points, 44.9 rebounds, 23.4 assists, 8.2 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 45.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 102.4 points per game.
Hawks: 5-5, averaging 124.4 points, 42.3 rebounds, 31.6 assists, 9.3 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 50.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 120.5 points.
INJURIES: Magic: Jalen Suggs: out for season (quad), Moritz Wagner: out for season (knee).
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Hawks: Larry Nance Jr.: out for season (knee), Kobe Bufkin: out for season (shoulder), Clint Capela: out (hand), Jacob Toppin: out (calf), Jalen Johnson: out for season (shoulder).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Atlanta, GA
Davante Adams Will Not Play Week 17 Versus Atlanta
Davante Adams will now miss a second straight game on December 29th as Sean McVay announced he did not expect Adams to return for the Week 17 Monday Night Football game. Adams is currently battling a hamstring injury. While it is not season ending, it is enough to keep the wide receiver out for the most crucial stretch for fantasy football owners.
Roll Out The Beautiful Touchdown Stat
If anyone wonders what Adams provides that is so top notch. Check this statline out.
NFL Receiving TD Leaders – 2025
Davante Adams (LAR) 14 (Thru WK 15)
— NFL Analytics & Stats (@gofbanalytics) December 20, 2025
Amon-Ra St. Brown (DET) 11
Trey McBride (ARI) 10
Dallas Goedert (PHI) 9
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (SEA) 9
Tee Higgins (CIN) 9
George Pickens (DAL) 8
Michael Pittman Jr. (IND) 7
Quentin Johnston (LAC) 7
Adams may not play another down in the regular season and could still lead the league in touchdowns. A lot can happen over the next few weeks but anything is possible. Still, 14 touchdowns in 15 games is impressive. That is a big dent in production and hurts fantasy football owners even more.
What Other Impacts May This Have?
In Week 16 against the Seattle Seahawks, the offense ran through Puka Nacua and Colby Parkinson. Nacua was amazing with 225 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He was targeted 16 times and caught 12 passes from Matthew Stafford. Nacua could be in line for another incredible game against Atlanta. The Falcons have been giving up more passing yards of late and 419 to Carolina in Week 11).
A question mark may be Colby Parkinson. Parkinson was in line to get more looks with Adams out but he only had two receptions for 21 yards on four targets. That was surprising. Stafford and Nacua had tunnel vision. Four players besides Nacua had more than four targets. The likelihood that Stafford throws 49 passes is low against Atlanta. Will they run more than 35 times? That is at least possible.
Never sit Matthew Stafford especially this season. Even in defeat to Seattle, he threw for 457 yards and three touchdowns. It should have been enough for a win and yet this was not. The Rams’ defense and particularly secondary should cause Stafford some pause. He has to wonder what it might take to win from week to week now.
Jalen Hurts to Dallas Goedert in the red zone is like Matthew Stafford to Davante Adams
— McArthur Alexander (@mcarthura2007) December 21, 2025
The one area that did cause the Rams some trouble at times was throwing in the red zone against Seattle. After all, Harrison Mevis did have to attempt four field goals (he made three) in the loss. There were a few times where one wondered gee Adams would have scored on that play. Despite that, Los Angeles did still score 37 points against Seattle.
Who Should You Stream In Place Of Adams?
Honestly, the good news is with this many days notice, fantasy football owners do not have to scramble quite as feverishly here. Some teams will let off the gas while others want to see what they have with younger players. Simply, options will be out there. Look toward our wide receiver streamer article that comes out during the week.
It is hard to believe but we are almost to the fantasy football finish line. This has been some year and good luck as the fantasy footbal season approaches its end.
More Fantasy On SI:
Atlanta, GA
Former Alabama prep star, Atlanta Braves outfielder dead at age 67
The funeral service for former Atlanta Braves outfielder Albert Hall is scheduled for 11 a.m. CST Monday at New Mount Zion Baptist Church in Birmingham.
Hall died on Tuesday at age 67.
On Sept. 23, 1987, Hall became the first player to hit for the cycle in an Atlanta Braves uniform and the first for the franchise since Bill Collins did so for the Boston Braves on Oct. 6, 1910. Twenty-one years after Hall’s feat, Mark Kotsay became the second Atlanta player to hit for the cycle on Aug. 14, 2008.
In Atlanta’s 5-4 victory over the Houston Astros, Hall led off the bottom of the first with a single and the bottom of the fifth with a double off Jim Deshaies. In the sixth, Hall hit a solo home run off Deshaies to tie the score at 4-4. Hall started the bottom of the ninth with a triple off reliever Dave Smith and ended the game by scoring on a wild pitch.
A speedy outfielder who stole 455 bases in the minor leagues, Hall went from Jones Valley High School in Birmingham to professional baseball when Atlanta selected him in the sixth round of the 1977 draft.
After hitting .308 and stealing 60 bases for the Southern League’s Savannah Braves in 1981, Hall made his MLB debut on Sept. 12, 1981, as a pinch-runner for catcher Bruce Benedict in the 10th inning of Atlanta’s 5-4 victory over the San Diego Padres.
From 1981 through 1988, Hall played in 375 games for the Braves before completing his MLB career with 20 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1989.
Hall posted a career batting average of .251 with a .328 on-base average and .335 slugging percentage. He had 125 runs, 202 hits, 37 doubles, eight triples, five home runs, 53 RBIs and 67 stolen bases in the big leagues.
Hall’s best season game in 1987, when he hit .284 and stole 33 bases in 92 games for Atlanta.
Hall appeared in minor-league games each season from 1977 through 1989, except in 1984 and 1987, when he spent the campaigns completely with Atlanta.
In 946 minor-league games, Hall hit .282 with a .376 on-base average and .372 slugging percentage. In 1980, Hall stole 100 bases for the Carolina League’s Durham Bulls.
After Monday’s service, burial will be at Elmwood Cemetery and Mausoleum in Birmingham.
Atlanta, GA
College football player found dead in Atlanta house fire
A college football player from Georgia was found dead in a house fire in suburban Atlanta, authorities confirmed earlier this week.
Izaiah Taylor, an offensive lineman for Georgia Military College, was staying at his grandfather’s house in Stone Mountain when the home erupted into flames around 1 p.m. EST on Monday, per WAGA-TV.
Taylor’s grandfather, Gregory Edwards, said that he was not at the home when he was notified about the blaze.
“Well, I got a call from my neighbor. Said there was smoke coming out of the home, and I immediately left work and headed to the house,” Edwards said.
According to WXIA-TV, flames had already engulfed the residence by the time first responders arrived, and Taylor, 21, was pronounced dead at the scene.
“There was no hesitation in going in and searching for the victim,” DeKalb County Fire Captain Jaeson Daniels said. “We got here, and we were able to establish a water supply. And again, receiving that information from one of the nearby residents stating that there was some water inside, we actually went right in and performed a search and luckily found him pretty quick, but unfortunately he was deceased. Once we found him.”
Taylor transferred to the junior college, located in Milledgeville, ahead of this past season after playing for Liberty University in 2024.
“Georgia Military College is deeply saddened by the loss of one of our students, Izaiah Taylor,” the college said in a statement on Tuesday. “Our hearts are with Izaiah’s family, friends, classmates, and all those who knew and loved him.”
Investigators are still determining the cause of the fire, WRDW-TV reported.
Edwards got emotional when talking about his grandson, calling him “a gentle giant.”
“He was one of the kindest people you would have ever known. He wasn’t a bully,” Edwards said. “He was a good boy. He didn’t deserve this.”
“What can I say? I mean, that’s not an easy pill to swallow. You know, you don’t bury your grandchildren,” he added.
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