Hawks vs Pistons: Game Preview, Injury Report, Betting Odds, Projected Starting Lineups For Tonight's Game

Can the Hawks carry over the momentum from an excellent win over the Knicks into their matchup against Detroit?

Rohan Raman | Nov 8, 2024

Nov 4, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) dunks against the Boston Celtics in the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

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Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks just picked up their best win of the season in a 121-116 takedown of the New York Knicks. Even though the Knicks were a better team on paper, the Hawks played a complete brand of basketball that ultimately proved too much to handle. Although New York shot better from deep (47% from 3-point range as a team), the Hawks shot at a 40% clip from deep while playing good defense at the critical inflection points in the game.

The three Hawks that are supposed to form the future core of this team all came to play against the Knicks. Trae Young (23 points, 10 assists, six rebounds) and Jalen Johnson (23 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists) both turned in great performances. Young struggled with his efficiency, but hit the shots that Atlanta needed him to make and shined as a facilitator. He also had two steals as the defender on Mikal Bridges and stole some rebounds for Atlanta in one of his better two-way performances. Young has been more of a positive defender this season and it's paid dividends for Atlanta. As always, Johnson stuffed the stat sheet and forced New York to respect him as a interior scorer while also hitting three of his six attempts from deep. After a poor start to the season, Johnson has really come along. He's recorded 20+ points, 5+ rebounds and 4+ assists in five of his last six games.

However, the real story of the game was Zaccharie Risacher. The 1st pick in the 2024 NBA Draft showed why Atlanta took that gamble on him with 33 points on 11-18 shooting and 6-10 from three, while also grabbing seven rebounds, getting three steals, and recording zero turnovers. He's the fourth-youngest player to ever record that statline, joining the likes of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and LaMelo Ball.

Zaccharie Risacher, who played a career-high 37 mins tonight, became the fourth-youngest player in the NBA since 1977-78 to finish a game with 30+ points and 0 turnovers.

LeBron James (19y/36d)
Kobe Bryant (19y/116d)
LaMelo Ball (19y/167d)
ZACCHARIE RISACHER (19y/212d)
— Hawks PR (@HawksPR) November 7, 2024

Risacher obviously won't have games like this every night, but it's a great example of how his two-way contributions can elevate Atlanta. His three-ball had not been falling over the last few games, but it came together tonight in arguably the biggest game of the season.

It is also important to recognize the efforts of Dyson Daniels and Clint Capela in the Hawks' victory. Daniels had a rough game on offense, only scoring 6 points while going 3-16 from the field, but he had a very nice game as the primary defensive assignment on Jalen Brunson. Brunson struggled to impact the game in the first half and only finished with 21 points on 8-18 shooting after an improved second half. Capela went 8-8 from the field and scored 18 points, including the clutch free throws at the end of the game that practically gave Atlanta the win. He also grabbed six rebounds with four of them coming on offense to provide extra chances for the Hawks' stars.

If the Hawks play in a similar fashion to what they displayed against the Knicks, they should be able to handle business against a Pistons team that is improved from last year. Even so, it must be noted that Atlanta is still dealing with quite a few injuries to key members of their rotation.

Bogdan Bogdanovic (right hamstring tendinopathy), Kobe Bufkin (right shoulder subluxation), De’Andre Hunter (right knee injury management), Seth Lundy (left ankle sprain), Vit Krejci (right adductor strain), and Cody Zeller (not with team) are all out tomorrow.

Detroit does not have as many injuries, but they will likely be without key members of their team in center Jalen Duren and guard Ausar Thompson. Duren is doubtful with a left ankle sprain and Thompson is out indefinitely with a blood clots issue. Rookie Bobi Klintman is also out with a calf issue for the Pistons. Detroit's usual starting lineup of Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Tim Hardaway Jr, Tobias Harris and Jalen Duren has been below average, recording a -1.4 net rating across the nine games they've played so far. Things will probably look a bit tougher without Duren. However, it would be foolish to dismiss the Pistons. Tonight's game will be a good test of how the Hawks handle teams they are supposed to beat.

Game Preview

Coming into tonight's game, the Hawks are 9th in the NBA in PPG, 14th in FG%, 15th in 3PA, 19th in 3P%, 5th in FTA, 22nd in rebounding, and 22nd-best in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 12th in points per 100 possessions, 12th in effective field goal percentage, 22nd in turnover percentage, 13th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 8th in free throw rate.

On defense, Atlanta is 28th in PPG allowed, 16th in field goal percentage allowed, 30th in 3PA allowed, and 30th in 3P% allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Hawks are 25th in points allowed per 100 possessions, and 27th in effective field goal percentage allowed.

The Pistons are 27th in the NBA in PPG, 15th in FG%, 20th in 3PA, 22nd in 3P%, 28th in FTA, 7th in rebounding, and 27th-best in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Detroit is 23rd in points per 100 possessions, 15th in effective field goal percentage, 29th in turnover percentage, 10th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 25th in free throw rate.

As a defense, Detroit is 8th in PPG allowed, 10th in field goal percentage allowed, 8th in 3PA allowed, and 14th in 3P% allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Pistons are 13th in points allowed per 100 possessions, and 10th in effective field goal percentage allowed.

The numbers indicate that Detroit primarily wins games through its combination of strong defense and good rebounding while Atlanta wins through its offensive prowess. As a result, this is a matchup that Clint Capela will likely be extremely important in. Neither Isaiah Stewart or Paul Reed are true floor spacers at the center position, so any concerns over Capela being exploited on the perimeter should be minimal. Especially with Duren out, I expect Capela to have a strong rebounding performance against the Pistons. Stewart is one of Detroit's better defenders and Reed has his moments, but neither are imposing enough on that end to take Capela out of the game.

From a star talent perspective, the juxtaposition between Trae Young and Cade Cunningham is very intriguing. I expect that Daniels will take on the assignment of guarding Cunningham - he occupied a similar role when guarding Jalen Brunson. Cunningham has been much better to start 2024-25 than last season as he is averaging 22.9 points, 7.7 assists and 6.8 rebounds on 47.1/34.6/77.4 splits. However, I do think this is a matchup that Daniels should be able to handle. One interesting note is Cunningham's size in comparison to the small guards Daniels typically has a lot of success against. Daniels was good in his minutes against Tyrese Maxey and Jalen Brunson, who are both around 6'2. It is a slightly different challenge to guard the 6'6 Cunningham, who is stronger and bigger than the average point guard. For Detroit, guarding Trae Young is going to be a struggle. They are fresh off of getting diced up by LaMelo Ball for 25 points, 8 assists and six rebounds. Young is a better shooter with similar playmaking ability.

I am also interesting to see how Jalen Johnson and Zaccharie Risacher match up against Detroit's wings. Johnson should face little resistance from Tobias Harris, whose veteran presence and abilities as a floor spacer shouldn't make up for the athletic disadvantage he is at against Johnson. To counter that, Detroit might try putting the athletic Ron Holland II on Johnson in order to keep up with him. Holland is also one of the better finishers in the NBA and has an explosive first step, so Johnson will need to be effective in both staying with him and communicating with Capela to limit that possible advantage.

Risacher likely won't have a repeat performance as a shooter, but I would expect him to find success against either Tim Hardaway Jr or Simone Fontecchio. Fontecchio and Holland are two of the Pistons' most interesting rotation pieces. Holland offers rim pressure while Fontecchio is one of the best shooting talents on the team. However, he is only hitting 31% of his attempts from deep, so it's possible that he will not be able to impact the matchup against Atlanta.

The Hawks also need to be very mindful of not letting Jaden Ivey, Tim Hardaway Jr or Malik Beasley take over this game as shooters. Hardaway and Beasley are known shooters capable on going on a hot streak from three that sinks Atlanta while Ivey has been red-hot from three-point range to open the year. He is currently shooting 41.3% from deep on 5.1 attempts a game. It's a small sample size, but Atlanta's suspectible perimeter defense will need to be better in order to stifle a shooting surge from the Pistons.