Hawks vs Pacers: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups For Tonight's Game

Can Atlanta get two straight wins against a team that they beat earlier this week in order to move up in the standings?

Rohan Raman | Mar 8, 2025

Mar 6, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Georges Niang (20) shoots against the Indiana Pacers in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

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Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks are back in action tonight against a familiar opponent in the Indiana Pacers. It is their second straight game against the Pacers and they're entering this matchup with some momentum. On Thursday, they beat the Pacers, 124-118, by having an excellent performance in the fourth quarter. Georges Niang led the team with 24 points off the bench (including four threes), but Trae Young racked up 22 points and 16 assists. Onyeka Okongwu only missed one attempt from the field on accumulated a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double. Zaccharie Risacher finished as a team-high +16 with 11 points on 3/3 shooting from deep while Dyson Daniels had 17 points. Mo Gueye played excellent defense and recorded 4 stocks (3 steals, one block) in his minutes. They also got nice bench minutes from Terance Mann, who finished with 12 points.

Tonight's game could be a bit tougher. It's always hard to beat a team twice in back-to-back games while Tyrese Haliburton is questionable again with a hip injury. If he ends up playing, the Hawks are going to have to account for his abilities as an offensive engine. However, Atlanta should feel reasonably confident about its chances in this rematch.

The Hawks are currently at the eighth seed in the East. They're 0.5 games back of the Heat, so there's a real opportunity to move up in the standings if they win and the Heat lose to the Bulls tonight. Either way, this has the potential to be a significant game in the Hawks' chances of locking up a top-8 seed.

Game Preview

Coming into tonight's game, the Hawks are 5th in the NBA in PPG, 14th in FG%, 15th in 3PA, 20th in 3P%, 2nd in FTA, 26th in turnovers, and 12th in rebounding. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 17th in points per 100 possessions, 17th in effective field goal percentage, 21st in turnover percentage, 14th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 6th in free throw rate.

Currently, the Hawks rank 27th in PPG allowed, 29th in field goal percentage allowed, 17th in three-point attempts allowed, and 28th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 18th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 28th in effective field goal percentage allowed.

The Pacers have firmly established themselves as a team that can match Atlanta's offensive firepower. They come into this game ranking 10th in PPG, 3rd in FG%, 26th in 3PA, 6th in 3P%, 25th in FTA, 28th in rebounding, and 6th in TO. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Pacers rank 8th in points per 100 possessions, 4th in effective field goal percentage, 5th in turnover percentage, 29th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 20th in free throw rate.

Defensively, they are more exploitable. They rank 26th in PPG allowed, 26th in FG% allowed, 6th in 3PA allowed, and 13th in 3P% allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Indiana is 16th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 23rd in EFG% allowed.

The Hawks scored 38 points in the fourth quarter and got 36 points from the duo of Niang/Mann off the bench. That was pivotal to their win on Thursday and they'll need another excellent game off the bench. Interestingly, this was a quiet game from Caris LeVert, who only accumulated 8 points on 4/11 shooting. That broke a three-game streak of going over 20 points, so he was certainly due for an off night. However, it does mean that they'll need a bigger game from him tonight because it's difficult to count on another 20+ point effort from Niang in back-to-back games.

Surprisingly, the Pacers did a good job of staying with the Hawks in the rebounding battle. Atlanta only got one more board than Indiana despite the Pacers being a poor rebounding team all season. That's a testament to their effort on the boards and the Hawks need to do a better job of pushing their advantage tonight. They got rebounds down the stretch, but it was a middling effort throughout most of the game.

Dyson Daniels has been one of the best defenders in the NBA, but he was not at his best on Thursday. He only recorded one steal and had a hard time slowing down Andrew Nembhard, who finished with 15 points and 10 assists to only two turnovers. His presence as a scorer has also largely been helpful for Atlanta. After starting the year shooting under 30% from deep, he's turned himself into a 34.4% shooter from deep on 3.2 attempts per game. In his last 10 games, he's shooting 55.8% from the field and 50% from deep. The Hawks will need Daniels to be at his best on both ends of the court against a lineup with plenty of offensive firepower.

Pascal Siakam was phenomenal against Atlanta in Thursday's game and they'll need to have a better answer for him in the rematch. Siakam had 35 points on 12-18 shooting while grabbing nine rebounds. Part of his success is due to Atlanta missing Jalen Johnson, but it's possible they could find more success by having Mo Gueye serve as the primary defender on him. Gueye had an excellent defensive game against Indiana with 4 stocks and he has more offensive juice than Dominick Barlow at this stage. Niang isn't athletic enough to stay with Siakam and Okongwu's primary responsibility will be stopping Myles Turner. An extended stint for Gueye could result in a quieter night for Siakam.

Trae Young's muted efforts as a scorer have been a talking point since the All-Star break, but Atlanta's star point guard is starting to look like himself as the primary scoring option for a team that desperately needs him to have 20+ points a game. He broke his streak of sub-20+ point games with a 28 point game against the Bucks before following that up with a 22 point, 16 assist game on Thursday. Impressively, he dished out those 16 assists against Indiana while only turning it over once. He's been arguably the best playmaker in the NBA this season and the Hawks are going to need that again tonight.

As a team, the Hawks were very fortunate that Indiana's offense started slow on Thursday. They finished shooting 35.9% from deep as a team, which is respectable. However, they were only 6-18 at half (33.3%) from deep. If they get hot early, they can bury the Hawks and turn it into a game that Atlanta cannot get back into. They have the shooting talent to do it, which is why the Hawks have to come out early with either a strong defensive effort or red-hot offense.

Injury Report

Trae Young (right Achilles tendinitis) is probable while Larry Nance Jr remains out for the Hawks. Caris LeVert (left knee inflammation) and Terance Mann (right quad contusion) are both questionable. Importantly, Vit Krejci (lumbar fracture) has been upgraded from out to questionable.

Tyrese Haliburton (hip) and Benedict Mathurin (Wrist) are being listed as questionable for tonight's game. Aaron Nesmith is probable with a sore left hip.

Odds

According to Fanduel Sportsbook, the Pacers are 3 point favorites against the Hawks tonight and the total is set at 245.5.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Projected starting lineups

Hawks:

G- Trae Young

G - Dyson Daniels

F - Zaccharie Risacher

F - Mouhamed Gueye

C - Onyeka Okongwu

Pacers

G- Andrew Nembhard

G - Jarace Walker

F - Aaron Nesmith

F - Pascal Siakam

C- Myles Turner

Game Preview

Injury Report

Odds

Projected starting lineups

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