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

The Hawks are going to face the Wizards for the secont time this week, but they hope this game ends differently

Oct 28, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) dribbles against Washington Wizards guard Carlton Carrington (8) during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

For the second time in three days, the Washington Wizards and the Atlanta Hawks are going to face off. The Wizards shot the ball well in the last game and the Hawks made a ton of mistakes in the second half of their loss. It was the second straight loss and one that took a bit of the air out of the start to the Hawks season. Atlanta could use a win tonight, but they are going to be very shorthanded.

The Hawks were missing five key players on Monday and they are going to be at least four key players again tonight.

De’Andre Hunter (right knee inflammation) is questionable, Dyson Daniels (right hip flexor strain), Bogdan Bogdanovic (hamstring), Kobe Bufkin (shoulder), and Vit Krejci (adductor) are out. The Hawks also updated the status of Bogdanovic, Bufkin, and Krejci yesterday. Bufkin and Bogdanovic are going to be re-evaluated in four weeks while Krejci will be re-evaluated in two weeks. Daniels is day-to-day.

This is going to be tough for the Hawks to navigate for the time being, but they can still beat Washington, who will be without Kyle Kuzma and Malcolm Brogdon.

Game Preview

Coming into tonight's game, the Hawks are 7th in the NBA in PPG, 14th in FG%, 20th in 3PA, 18th in 3P%, 1st in FTA, 18th in FT%, 19th in rebounding, 4th in steals, and 21st in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 13th in points per 100 possessions, 14th in effective field goal percentage, 21st in turnover percentage, 18th offensive rebounding percentage, and 1st in free throw rate. It has been a good start to the season on offense for the Hawks, but there are clearly ways to improve.

The Hawks have a strange defensive profile. They have shown growth on that end of the floor and improved in areas, but three-pointers are killing the Hawks. Atlanta is 28th in PPG allowed, 8th (!!) in field goal percentage allowed, 30th in 3PA allowed, and 30th in 3P% allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Hawks are 24th in points allowed per 100 possessions, 21st in effective field goal percentage, 10th in turnover percentage, 22nd in offensive rebounding percentage allowed, and 20th in free throw rate allowed.

With all of these injuries, the Hawks are going to be very reliant on Trae Young and Jalen Johnson. Young had his worst game of the season on Monday, but he has been great otherwise. Young was 2-15 shooting on Monday and had trouble with Bilal Coulibaly guarding him. Even with the injuries the Hawks have, they will have the best player on the floor with Young, but they will also have the second best player in Johnson.

Johnson had a slow start to the year, but was phenomenal on Monday. He shot 11-17 from the floor and finished with 29 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists. The Wizards don't really have a good matchup on defense for Johnson and he could have another big game tonight.

The Hawks could really use De'Andre Hunter tonight. He is a good defender and rebounder who would help fix some of the Hawks issues that they had on Monday. The big question will be who starts if he does not play.

With Daniels out, I would expect to see Zaccharie Risacher start regardless of whether Hunter plays or not. Risacher is going to have to step up in terms of scoring with these players out. He is not shooting the ball well, despite doing plenty of other little things well, and that hurt the Hawks on Monday.

Onyeka Okongwu and Clint Capela are going to be the main two options at center tonight and Atlanta did not have Okongwu on Monday. They will have to deal with Jonas Valanciunas and try to keep him off the glass. Larry Nance was the backup center on Monday and if Hunter does not play, he could play power forward due to the Hawks being down so many guys.

The bench is going to consist of David Roddy, Okongwu, Garrison Matthews, possibly Nance, and probably Keaton Wallace. The Hawks backup point guard/ball handlers were Bufkin, Krejci, Bogdanovic and Daniels and they are all out. Wallace is probably going to have to play tonight when Young is off the floor.

Washington comes into this game 16th in PPG, 20th in field goal percentage, 9th in 3PA, 19th in 3P%, 23rd in FTA, 7th in FT%, 21st in rebounding, 20th in steals, and 18th in turnovers.

Per Cleaning the Glass, Washington is 25th in points per 100 possessions, 22nd in effective field goal percentage, 22nd in turnover percentage, 15th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 22nd in free throw rate.

The defensive end of the floor is not good for the Wizards. Washington is 30th in PPG allowed, 30th in field goal percentage allowed, 25th in 3PA allowed, 28th in 3PA allowed, and 28th in 3P% allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Wizards are 30th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 30th in effective field goal percentage allowed.

With Kuzma out, the Wizards are going to have to rely on Jordan Poole, Corey Kispert, Bub Carrington and others to carry the scoring and try to take advantage of the Hawks three-point defense.

Injury Report

De’Andre Hunter (right knee inflammation) is questionable, Dyson Daniels (right hip flexor strain), Bogdan Bogdanovic (hamstring), Kobe Bufkin (shoulder), and Vit Krejci (adductor) are out.

Kuzma, Malcolm Brogdon, and Saddiq Bey are out for the Wizards.

Odds

According to Fanduel Sportsbook, the Hawks are going to be 4.5 point favorites vs the Wizards tonight. The total is set at 233.

Projected Starting Lineups

Hawks:

G- Trae Young

G-Zaccharie Risacher

F- De'Andre Hunter (if Hunter does not play, Garrison Matthews could start)

F- Jalen Johnson

C- Clint Capela

Wizards:

G-Bub Carrington

G- Jordan Poole

F- Bilal Coulibaly

F- Alex Sarr

C-Jonas Valanciunas

Additional Links:

Which Backup Point Guard Could Atlanta Add in Free Agency?

Atlanta Hawks Provide Massive Injury Updates To Four Key Players

Who Could the Hawks Target in a Trade To Fix Their Backup Point Guard Spot?