Starting Lineups: Hawks vs Pelicans
New Orleans and Atlanta are getting set to tip off and the starting lineups were just announced for both teams.
After being listed as probable coming into the game, Dejounte Murray is in for the Hawks and he is in the starting lineup alongside Bogdan Bogdanovic, Vit Krejci, Saddiq Bey, and Clint Capela.
New Orleans is starting CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, and Jonas Valanciunas.
This is going to be the toughest game for the Hawks in quite some time. Given the way that most of this season has gone, nobody should fault the Hawks for the wins they have been racking up, especially since they are dealing with injuries of their own. However, it is fair to point out that the Hawks have beaten the Magic without Paolo Banchero, The Knicks without four starters, A Memphis team missing almost every one of their regular players, and Cleveland without Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, and Evan Mobley. Winning these games has kept Atlanta in the play-in race and they have a clear path forward. After they face New Orleans tonight, they have upcoming games vs the Lakers, Suns, and Clippers on a West Coast road trip, and those games will be tough in their current state.
The matchup I am watching closely tonight will be the Hawks offense vs the Pelicans defense. The Pelicans have one of the best defenses in the NBA while the Hawks have struggled to manufacture consistent offense without Trae Young. Dejounte Murray is on the injury report (listed as probable) for tonight's game. If Murray does play, he will be tasked with going up against the best defense he has faced in a while.
New Orleans is 8th in PPG allowed, 5th in field goal percentage allowed, and 1st in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, New Orleans is 7th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 9th in effective field goal percentage.
