Starting Lineups: Hawks vs Cavaliers
Tonight is going to be an interesting matchup between the Hawks and the Cavaliers.
Cleveland is missing Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Max Strus tonight while Atlanta will still be without Trae Young, Onyeka Okongwu, and rookie Kobe Bufkin. The starters are remaining the same for the Hawks though.
Dejounte Murray, Bogdan, Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, and Clint Capela are the first five on the floor for the Hawks.
Darius Garland, Georges Niang, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, and Jarrett Allen are the starters for the Cavs tonight.
The Hawks raced out to a 33-15 lead last night against a New York team missing four starters and though the Knicks were able to close the gap in the second and third quarters, Atlanta got a much-needed win. The offense still does not look great without Trae Young, but they got strong performances from Jalen Johnson, De'Andre Hunte, and Dejounte Murray.
Murray has been steady since Young was injured and had a near triple-double last night vs the Knicks. He is going to have to guide the Hawks against one of the NBA's best defenses tonight.
Jalen Johnson had two poor games vs Brooklyn, but he bounced back in a big way last night. Johnson scored 26 points, pulled in nine rebounds, and had seven assists in an all-around terrific performance. Atlanta needs more games like this from Johnson while Young is out and he delivered last night.
The starter that needs to find a way to get going is Bogdan Bogdanovic. Bogdanovic has had a terrific season overall, but these past five games have been rough for him on offense. He was 1-6 from the field and only scored five points last night.
Saddiq Bey had a solid game vs the Knicks, scoring 17 points and pulling in nine rebounds. The Hawks are one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the NBA and Bey is a reason why. When he is shooting the ball well and rebounding well, Bey makes up for his defensive shortcomings
It is fair to wonder if De'Andre Hunter is playing the best basketball of his career. Hunter had another 20-point performance off the bench and shot 9-14 from the field. Hunter has played really well off the bench for the past month or so.
Atlanta might need more from the rest of their bench rotation. Bruno Fernando, Garrison Matthews, and Trent Forrest scored 12 points combined last night.
