Atlanta Hawks Announce Starting Lineup For Tonight's Matchup With the Lakers

Can the Hawks get their first win of the Summer tonight?

Jul 12, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) competes against Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington (17) during the first half at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports / Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Hawks are about to tip off their latest Summer League matchup and are facing the Los Angeles Lakers. Zaccharie Risacher, Kobe Bufkin, Nikola Durisic, and Dylan Windler are out tonight. Ahead of tonight's matchup vs the Lakers, the Hawks just announced their starting lineup.

Hawks:

G- Keaton Wallace

G-Emmitt Matthews Jr

F-Moses Wood

F- Mouhamed Gueye

C- Rob Baker

Viewing and Betting Information

Tip-off time: 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Location: Cox Pavilion and Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV

Where to Watch: ESPN, ESPN+

Spread and Over/Under: The Hawks are slight favorites tonight, as they are 2.5-point favorites according to the latest odds from the Fanduel Sportsbook and the over/under is set at 172.5. 

Without Nikola Đurišić or Kobe Bufkin to be the point guard, I would suspect that Atlanta will start Keaton Wallace, who was recently awarded a two-way contract for his performance. Wallace had a really good first game vs the Wizards last week but struggled shooting the ball against San Antonio on Sunday. Wallace has been impressive on defense so far in Summer League and has been one of the Hawks's best players.

Mouhamed Gueye has had an up and down Summer League, but when he flashes, he is really impressive, especially on defense. Gueye has been uneven on offense and has gotten into foul trouble, but he is still one of the best players on the floor at times for the Hawks.

After struggling in the first game, Rob Baker had his best performance in the matchup with the Spurs. Baker had 13 points and six rebounds against San Antonio and he is likely going to get the start at center tonight unless the Hawks make any lineup changes.

The big star of the night for the Hawks on Sunday was E.J. Liddell, the recently acquired forward from the Dejounte Murray trade. Liddell scored 22 points and almost single handily got the Hawks a win in the second half of Sunday's game.

He had such a good performance that our own Rohan Raman said he was one of the Hawks who was raising his stock the most at Summer League:

"Liddell dropped 22 points on 43% shooting from the field and an game-high 10 free throw attempts, as well as two threes. Liddell used every bit of his 6'6, 240-pound frame to bully defenders. After his recovery from an ACL injury that wiped out his rookie year, it looks like Liddell is getting back to the player that he was at Ohio State.

Saddiq Bey gave the Hawks good minutes last year and Liddell could certainly step into that role next season. Between Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, De'Andre Hunter, Vit Krejci and Garrison Mathews, the Hawks actually have a fairly solid collection of wing talent. However, the physicality that Liddell would bring isn't readily replicated in a backup role. It also helps that he's a credible three-point shooter. If he can continue some of this production against Los Angeles, he will be a very strong candidate for a two-way deal. At the very least, it would make sense to give him a heavy workload in College Park as he continues to develop."

If Liddell can keep playing well, he could be on his way to a roster spot or a two way deal.

Miles Norris and Jarkel Joiner are two other players to keep an eye on tonight for the Hawks. Joiner has caused on havoc on the defense end in both game.