Atlanta Hawks Announce Starting Lineup For Tonight's Game vs the Clippers
The Hawks had good injury news come their way before tonight's game vs the Clippers. De'Andre Hunter and Saddiq Bey were both ruled as available to play after coming into the game questionable and that gave the Hawks two starting caliber forwards for tonight's game.
The Hawks are going to be starting Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu tonight. Okongwu is starting in the place of the injured Clint Capela.
The Clippers are starting James Harden, Terance Mann, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Mason Plumlee.
I think the big matchup in this game will be the Hawks offense vs the Clippers defense.
Atlanta has one of the NBA's best offenses and they are playing at a high level right now. They are 3rd in PPG, 22nd in field goal percentage, 7th in three-point attempts, 18th in three-point percentage, 5th in free throw attempts, 8th in rebounding, and 16th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Hawks are 10th in points per 100 possessions, 21st in effective field goal percentage, 11th in turnover percentage, 3rd in offensive rebounding percentage, and 8th in free throw rate.
Young is averaging 27.3 PPG and 10.9 APG, but it has been the other side of the court that has started to get attention. Young has the reputation of being the worst defender in the NBA, but he has become one of the league's best at getting steals, and he has taken a number of charges late in games that help result in turnovers for the other team. He is not getting enough attention on that end.
Hawks Point Guard Trae Young
Dejounte Murray is having the top-scoring season of his career and he was huge in the clutch against the Warriors on Saturday. He is averaging 21.5 PPG and he will likely have to guard James Harden tonight.
Jalen Johnson is in the running for the NBA's Most Improved Player award and for good reason. He came close to a triple-double in the last game and had eight assists without turning the ball over. He is getting better in a lot of facets of his game and he will play a huge role tonight.
With Capela out, Onyeka Okongwu will likely get the start, and having him as the backup center is huge for the Hawks. He had 22 points and 16 rebounds off the bench against the Warriors on Saturday.
The Clippers have always had a good defense as long as Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have been there and that has not changed this year. Los Angeles is 8th in PPG allowed, 6th in field goal percentage allowed, 16th in three-point attempts allowed, and 8th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Clippers are 8th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 6th in effective field goal percentage allowed.
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