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

While their matchup against a depleted 76ers team on Sunday didn't answer any questions about the ceiling of the 2024-25 Atlanta Hawks, they took care of business and lead by as much as 27 points. Atlanta's offense has been playing at a high-level over the past two weeks and against a 76ers team that posed little resistance, they did what they should have done. They shot 55% from the field and 46% from three. Per usual, Trae Young led the Hawks in points and assists (28 points and 12 assists on 7-12 shooting), but they got standout performances from a number of players. Zaccharie Risacher (22 points on 9-15 shooting), Dominick Barlow (13 points and 10 rebounds) and Georges Niang (20 points) all had big games for Atlanta and played a critical role in winning their third straight game to move them to 35-36 this season. They are firmly in position to land the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Tonight's opponent is going to pose a tougher challenge. The Rockets are currently the 2nd seed in a very competitive Western Conference and they've won nine of their last ten games. However, it should be noted they haven't played a particularly difficult schedule. Four of their wins have come against depleted teams in the 76ers, Pelicans and Mavericks. They've beaten middling teams in the Suns and Bulls while also beating a Heat team that has slumped hard in the second half of the season. To be fair, they have also beaten the Magic twice, who are currently 1.5 games back of the Hawks for the 7th seed. This isn't to say the Rockets can be underestimated, but it's important to look at their wins with some context.

In their last matchup, the Hawks narrowly fell to Houston, 100-96, due to Jalen Green getting hot in the third quarter and Atlanta's shooting falling off a cliff. After hitting three of their first seven 3-pointers, the Hawks went 8 of 40 the rest of the game. They'll have an opportunity to bounce back tonight.

Game Preview

Coming into tonight's game, the Hawks are 5th in the NBA in PPG, 14th in FG%, 16th in 3PA, 19th in 3P%, 2nd in FTA, 25th in turnovers, and 13th in rebounding. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 17th in points per 100 possessions, 18th in effective field goal percentage, 21st in turnover percentage, 13th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 7th in free throw rate.

Currently, the Hawks rank 27th in PPG allowed, 28th in field goal percentage allowed, 15th in three-point attempts allowed, and 27th 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 Rockets' offense has been an inconsistent unit all season. They are 17th in the NBA in PPG, 25th in FG%, 20th in 3PA, 23rd in 3P%, 5th in FTA, 13th in turnovers, and 1st in rebounding. Per Cleaning the Glass, Houston is 13th in points per 100 possessions, 26th in effective field goal percentage, 10th in turnover percentage, 1st in offensive rebounding percentage, and 25th in free throw rate.

Fortunately for them, Houston's defense has been a top-five unit throughout the season. They rank 5th in PPG allowed, 5th in field goal percentage allowed, 2nd in three-point attempts allowed, and 10th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Rockets are 3rd in points allowed per 100 possessions and 2nd in effective field goal percentage allowed.

Trae Young had 21 points and nine assists during his last outing against the Rockets, but the Hawks star has been on a torrid scoring run as of late. In his last 10 games, he's averaging 27.8 points and 10.9 assists on 45.2/34.5/94% shooting splits. Young will likely draw Fred VanVleet on defense, which is a tough matchup. VanVleet is in the midst of one of his better seasons on defense - his defensive box plus-minus of 1.5 is the second-best mark of his career and his penchant for defensive communication/timing is critical to Houston's effectiveness on defense. However, the Rockets are fresh off of getting torched by Jamal Murray for 39 points, so they aren't immune to struggling against opposing ball-handlers.

The hallmark of this Rockets team is running teams off the three-point line. They are excellent at stifling attempts and rarely allow teams to get hot. That's because they have athletic, smart and versatile defenders like Tari Eason and Amen Thompson. Atlanta is short on offensive creators not named Trae Young, but this could be an area where Zaccharie Risacher makes a difference. In his last 10 games, he's averaging 14.2 points and 4.2 rebounds on 50/38.6/80% shooting splits. His handle is improving and his confidence in his shot is growing with each game. Atlanta did not have him for their last matchup against Houston, so his performance could be critical in a Hawks victory. Georges Niang is going to be critical in this matchup - he's the team's best volume three-point shooter and the Rockets are likely going to clamp down on him. If he can't get some shots to fall, that could be a problem for the Hawks.

Although it's an excellent defense, Houston's scheme isn't great at stopping teams in the paint. weakness of the Rockets. They're 18th in opposing points in the paint (OPITP) and the duo of DeAndre Jordan and Aaron Gordon collected 24 points and 19 rebounds during Houston's last game. The Hawks rank 3rd in PITP largely due to the emergence of Onyeka Okongwu. Okongwu's averaging 15.4 points and 10.9 rebounds on 58/50/88.5% shooting splits in his last 10 games. He has an interesting matchup tonight against Alperen Sengun. Sengun is an excellent playmaker and he deserves respect as a scorer, but I'm interested to see how well these two centers guard each other. Okongwu has been a solid rim protector while Sengun is defensively limited.

Atlanta's bench has been among the best in basketball - they rank 4th in bench points per game and 7th in FG%. However, the Rockets' second unit is a bit weaker on offense. They are 25th in points per game, but their bench is 3rd in defensive rating. If the Rockets can clamp down on the Hawks' scoring from their second unit, this could be a rough game for Atlanta's offense.

Injury Report

Trae Young (right Achilles tendinitis) is probable while Larry Nance, Clint Capela, and Keaton Wallace remain out.

For Houston, Reed Sheppard (thumb) is out.

Odds

According to Fanduel Sportsbook, the Rockets are 8.5 point favorites against the Hawks tonight and the total is set at 236.

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

Rockets

G - Fred VanVleet

G - Jalen Green

F - Amen Thompson

F - Dillon Brooks

C- Alperen Sengun

Additional Links

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