Hawks vs Nets: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups

Can the Hawks get a road win vs the Nets and further distance themselves in the play-in race?

The Hawks are back on the road for the first time since the All-Star Break ended and they will be heading to the Big Apple for a crucial two-game stretch against the Brooklyn Nets. 

It is crucial because Atlanta finds themselves in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, four games ahead of the Nets. If the Hawks can win the next two games, they will be ahead by six games with only 22 games left in the season. It is an important two games for both teams. 

Brooklyn limps into this game having lost eight of their last ten games and most of those games have been blowouts. After starting the year off well and looking like like a solid bet to be in the play-in tournament, the Nets have completely fallen apart and have since fired former head coach Jacque Vaughan. Former UConn head coach Kevin Ollie is the interim head coach for the Nets. 

So how do these two teams matchup?

Game Preview

The Hawks are playing in their third game with point guard Trae Young and they are looking to move to 3-0 since his injury. While the offense has not completely cratered, it is not the same and that has been noticeable. 

The good news for the Hawks is that in Young's absence, Dejounte Murray and Jalen Johnson have been fantastic. 

With Trae Young out, Johnson was going to be asked to do a lot on offense, as well as being their top perimeter defender and he has responded.

After a near triple-double on Sunday, Johnson almost had one again last night. He finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and six rebounds while shooting 9-14 from the floor. He looked comfortable running the floor on offense and his transition game is already among the best in the NBA. Johnson is one of the most improved players in the NBA and he is only getting better.

After a tough couple of games, Clint Capela started to look like his old self a little bit on Tuesday vs Utah. He finished with nine points, 13 rebounds, and three blocked shots. Capela was finishing better at the rim and looked good on defense. 

Former NBA All-Star Comments On Trae Young's Recent Injury: "I Hope This is the Last Time We See Him in a Hawks Uniform"

For the fourth time in the last five games, De'Andre Hunter scored 20 points coming off the bench. I think it might be safe to assume that this is the role Hunter is going to be in for the rest of the season and he is excelling at it.

Hunter finished with 20 points on 6-10 shooting and five rebounds last night and was the second-leading scorer on the team. Hunter has also been a good defender in this stretch and his emergence off the bench has been notable. He is quicker with his decision making and that has been one of the most notable things when watching under over the past month. 

The Hawks come into the game 4th in PPG, 21st in field goal percentage, 7th in three-point attempts, 20th in three-point percentage, 5th in free throw attempts, 1st in offensive rebounding, and 13th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 10th in points per 100 possessions, 17th in effective field goal percentage, 7th in turnover percentage, 5th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 8th in free throw rate. 

Brooklyn is not one of the league's best defensive teams, but they are not one of the best either. 

Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter vs the Nets / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Brooklyn is 16th in PPG allowed, 10th in field goal percentage, and 25th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Nets are 18th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 13th in effective field goal percentage. 

The Nets are going to be without Cam Thomas, who is probably their best scorer on the offensive end. A big reason for Brooklyn's struggles have been that they don't have many offensive creators and guys that can get their own shot and while Mikal Bridges was supposed to be that guy, he has not shown the he can be the No.1 guy, though he is still an excellent player.

The most interesting matchup in this game is the Hawks defense vs the Nets offense. 

Brooklyn comes into the game as one of the leagues worst offenses and they are without Thomas. The Nets are 24th in PPG, 28th in field goal percentage, 8th in three-point attempts, 18th in three-point percentage, 27th in free throw attempts, 6th in offensive rebounding, and 7th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Brooklyn is 23rd in points allowed per 100 possessions, 24th in effective field goal percentage allowed, 8th in turnover percentage, 16th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 29th in free throw rate. 

The Hawks defensive numbers have not changed much. They are 29th in PPG allowed, 28th in field goal percentage allowed, and 27th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 26th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 30th in effective field goal percentage. 

What is interesting about the Hawks defense though is that they are playing well in the last two games and I want to see if that can carry over. 

The first game might be easy to dismiss against an Orlando team that was missing their best player, but the Jazz are a pretty solid offensive team and they could not get anything going against the Haws. The Hawks defense held Utah to 37% from the field and 29% from three and Utah star Lauri Markkanen only had 11 points. Utah scored 0.90 points per possession. Rookie guard Kobe Bufkin had another solid performance on defense as well and his contributions should not be understated.

After the game, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder praised his defense for how they played:

"I think other than we had some stretches where particularly live ball turnovers, but when we got settled, I thought we did a better job of staying in front of the ball and our bigs came over and contested shots and got rebounds. It is playing through a whole possession and I think we are helping each other more."

Is this a trend for Atlanta? It is still early to say but their defense has been good the past two games. 

Injury Report

Onyeka Okongwu (left big toe sprain/sesamoiditis) and Trae Young (left fifth finger torn ligament) are out tomorrow.

Viewing and Betting Information

Tip-off time: 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass, Bally Sports Southeast

Spread and Over/Under: The Hawks will be underdogs on the road tonight, as they are currently 1.5 point underdogs and the over/under is at 222.5 according to the latest odds from the SI Sportsbook

Projected Starting Lineups

Hawks:

G- Bogdan Bogdanovic

G- Dejounte Murray

F- Jalen Johnson

F- Saddiq Bey

C- Clint Capela

Nets:

G- Dennis Schroder

G- Cam Johnson

F- Mikal Bridges

F- Dorian Finney-Smith

C- Nic Claxton