Hawks vs Clippers: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups
The Atlanta Hawks West Coast road trip continues tonight with a trip to Los Angeles to face the Clippers. These two teams had a thrilling matchup in February that the Clippers won 149-144, but the teams look different than they did then. The Hawks are missing Trae Young, Onyeka Okongwu, Kobe Bufkin, Saddiq Bey, Mouhamed Gueye, and AJ Griffin coming into tonight's game.
Atlanta remains in 10th place by 3.5 games over Brooklyn heading into tonight's game, despite their current three-game losing streak. The Hawks had chances to beat Portland and Utah this week, but lost close games.
The Clippers remain one of the top teams in the NBA Title race, but they have fallen to 4th place in the Western Conference, 4.5 games out of first place. They are also just 5-5 in their last ten games.
So who do these two teams matchup heading into tonight's game?
Game Preview
The Hawks offense should get a boost tonight with the return of Bogdan Bogdanovic, who missed the game vs Utah with an illness. Jalen Johnson was able to return last game and made an impact, but not a big enough one to be able to beat Utah.
Dejounte Murray has had some big games in Trae Young's absence and Atlanta might need another one tonight. Murray had 41 points in a win over Memphis, 40 in the loss to Portland, and 33 in the loss to Utah on Friday. They have not been the most efficient games, but Murray is the clear best player and shot creator on Atlanta. He will also likely be tasked with guarding James Harden tonight, if Hardnen is cleared to play.
Bogdanovic has not been playing well in Young's absence and the Hawks really need him to turn that around. Atlanta has to face the Lakers and Suns after this and they won't have a chance in their upcoming games if Bogdanovic does not start shooting the ball better.
With Bey out, Vit Krejci should continue to start for the Hawks. He has shown the ability to be able to hit three's, but he has not scored much. The Hawks should not have to rely on Krejci for a lot of scoring, but I think he needs to be a threat if he is going to start.
Jalen Johnson scored 26 points in the game vs Utah, but shot 8-23 from the field and 6-10 from the free throw line. Johnson will have to guard either Kawhi Leonard or Paul George tonight as well. I am looking for Johnson to have a more efficient game tonight.
Clint Capela has been playing well lately and has had at least 11 rebounds in four straight games. Capela could keep his double-double streak alive tonight against Ivica Zubac and the Clippers.
The bench for the Hawks is led by De'Andre Hunter, who is coming off of another terrific game. He scored 27 points on 10-17 shooting, including 5-7 from three. Hunter is going to play a big role tonight and he had one of his best games of the season when these two teams played in February. He scored 27 points on 10-12 shooting in just 19 minutes.
Trent Forrest, Garrison Matthews, and Bruno Fernando are the other players that will see time off the bench. The Hawks have not been getting a lot of production from them lately, but that might need to change tonight.
Coming into this game, Atlanta ranks 5th in PPG, 23rd in field goal percentage, 7th in three-point attempts, 17th in three-point percentage, 5th in free throw attempts, 1st in offensive rebounding, and 14th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Hawks are 9th in points per 100 possessions, 19th in effective field goal percentage, 9th in turnover percentage, 5th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 8th in free throw rate.
The Clippers defense could pose problems for the Hawks. George and Leonard are two excellent defenders and will spend time guarding the Hawks two biggest offensive threats, Murray and Johnson. Los Angeles is 12th in PPG allowed, 10th in field goal percentage, and 13th in three-point percentage. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Clippers are 14th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 8th in effective field goal percentage allowed.
Leonard had a big game the last time these two teams played, scoring 36 points on 13-20 shooting. Harden had a near triple-double and the Clippers got 48 points from their bench.
The Clippers are 11th in PPG, 6th in field goal percentage, 17th in three-point attempts, 2nd in three-point percentage, 13th in free throw attempts, 22nd in offensive rebounding and 10th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Clippers are 4th in points per 100 possessions, 6th in effective field goal percentage, 11th in turnover percentage, 19th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 6th in free throw rate.
The Hawks defense still ranks near the bottom of the NBA, though I don't see the Clippers being able to score nearly 150 points like the last matchup.
Injury Report
AJ Griffin (right lower leg/right ankle contusion) is out, Mouhamed Gueye (right UCL sprain) is out, while Trae Young, Onyeka Okongwu, Kobe Bufkin, Saddiq Bey are still out. Neither Jalen Johnson or Bogdan Bogdanovic were listed on the injury report. Johnson returned from an ankle sprain last game vs Utah and Bogdanovic missed the game with an illness.
James Harden and Norman Powell are questionable for tonight's game.
Viewing and Betting Information
Tip-off time: 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
Where to Watch: NBA League Pass, Bally Sports Southeast, NBA TV
Spread and Over/Under: The Hawks will be underdogs on the road tonight, as they are currently 9.5 point underdogs according to the latest odds from the SI Sportsbook and the over/under is set at 220.5.
Starting Lineups
Hawks:
G- Bogdan Bogdanovic
G- Dejounte Murray
F- Vit Krejci
F- Jalen Johnson
C- Clint Capela
Clippers:
G-James Harden
G- Terrance Mann
F- Paul George
F- Kawhi Leonard
C-Ivica Zubac
If Harden does not play, Bones Hyland might get the start. He started the last game vs New Orleans.
