Atlanta Hawks vs Cleveland Cavaliers: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineup for Tonight's Matchup

After the most disappointing loss of the season thus far, the Hawks have a prime opportunity to bounce back against the Cavaliers in their second consecutive NBA Cup game.

Nov 29, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) plays defense against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) during the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Saying that the Atlanta Hawks had an off night in their last game against the Washington Wizards would be a slight understatement.

It's more accurate to call it a complete beatdown for the Hawks in a way that they haven't quite experienced this year. Not only did they lose to a Wizards team that has the worst record in the NBA, but they got blown off the court. Washington won, 132-113, while shooting a ludicrous 50% from deep and leading by 33 points at one point in the game. They led for the entirety of the game and the Hawks never really had a chance at it.

Atlanta had no answer for CJ McCollum, who torched them for 46 points and went 10-13 from deep in the game. They got a solid performance out of Kristaps Porzingis, who put up 22 points and eight rebounds. Zaccharie Risacher made four of his nine attempts from deep after struggling with his three-point shot to begin the season. However, there weren't many bright spots for Atlanta beyond that.

It was undoubtedly a disappointing loss and showed that the Hawks are still sorting through some early issues. Even so, they don't have much time to dwell on it because they have a NBA Cup matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Although Atlanta does not have much of a chance of advancing further in the Cup due to their 1-2 record in Group A, they can play spoiler to the Cavaliers and get back on track in one fell swoop with a win tonight.

By the Numbers

Nov 2, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward De'Andre Hunter (12) drives to the basket against Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) during the second half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Hawks' offense against the Wizards wasn't representative of their usual form. They're 17th in points, 6th in FG%, 10th in 3P%, 18th in FT%, 25th in rebounds (25th in OREB), 1st in assists and 13th in turnovers per game. They're 16th in offensive rating on the year, so the advanced metrics support the idea that they'll be able to match up with most teams on that end.

Atlanta's defense was completely lost against the Wizards and their overall solid numbers are going to take a hit after their poor performance. On a per-game basis, the Hawks rank 15th in points allowed, 13th in FG% allowed, 8th in 3P% allowed, 22nd in rebounds allowed, 8th in steals and 7th in blocks. They're 14th in defensive rating on the year, which puts them in an above-average tier.

Donovan Mitchell's incredible season is largely propping up the Cavaliers' offense. They're 11th in points, 20th in FG%, 22nd in 3P%, 26th in FT%, 20th in rebounds (13th in OREB), 10th in assists and 8th in turnovers per game. When Mitchell is on, the Cavaliers can make up almost any deficit. When he isn't, the offense looks a lot like the toothless unit that couldn't break 100 points against the Raptors in their most recent game.

Both Jarrett Allen and DeAndre Hunter will be back for the Cavaliers tonight, so the Hawks are essentially facing Cleveland's defense at full strength. They've had some lapses on that end, but they're still 13th in points allowed, 11th in FG% allowed, 18th in 3P% allowed, 23rd in rebounds allowed, 10th in steals and 4th in blocks. It'll be a good test of Atlanta's ability to respond from an off night if they're able to give Cleveland's defense problems.

Three Reasons Atlanta Can Win This Game

Nov 2, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) shoots over the defense of Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) during the first quarter at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Evan Mobley's 2025-26 season was supposed to be the season where his offense finally became consistent. He made both the All-NBA Second Team and the All-Star team while being named the 2025 Defensive Player of the Year. However, he hasn't been living up to that standard on a nightly basis. Despite averaging 18.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and a career-high 3.9 assists a game, Mobley just hasn't been very consistent. In his past five games, he's shot the ball under 10 times twice and failed to hit a three-pointer twice. His TS% has dropped from being firmly above 60% for the past two seasons to 57.2% this year. While he is getting fouled on a career-high 19% of his shots, he is also only shooting 59.5% at the charity stripe. That ranks in the ninth percentile - yes, ninth - among all centers. His lack of assertiveness and efficient shooting on offense presents a good opportunity for the Hawks to exploit him with their center duo of Porzingis and Onyeka Okongwu. Mobley is still a solid defender, but he's not been elite on that end this year. Both Porzingis and Okongwu have enough of a jumper to force Mobley into some awkward positions on the floor.

Toronto's multitude of athletic wings with length gave the Cavaliers trouble in their most recent game and the Hawks have the personnel to give them similar issues. Obviously, Jalen Johnson is going to be a force for the Cavaliers to handle - his poor outing against the Wizards shoudn't obscure the fact that he's averaging a career-high 21.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and seven assists on a career-best 63 TS%. The less-heralded names in Atlanta's collection of wings could make the difference. Risacher is coming off one of his best shooting games of the year and Nickeil Alexander-Walker has been incredible for the Hawks throughout the early part of the season. He's handled his elevated role extremely well, averaging a career-best 18.6 points and 3.6 assists per game on 59 TS% and an solid 12.4 TOV%. That's even before mentioning how Atlanta's been able to bring size and length off the bench in Vit Krejci and Mo Gueye.

In their last game against the Cavaliers, most of the Hawks' starters could not buy a made three-pointer. Johnson hit the only three-pointer that Atlanta's starters had all night and he only made one. The rest of the Hawks' four starters all missed every three-pointer they took and the team as a whole shot a putrid 6-23 from deep. While some credit has to be given to Cleveland's defense, it's hard to expect that trend to continue. The Cavaliers only won by eight points and it'd be interesting to see how things might have changed with even normal shooting nights from the Hawks' roster.

Three Reasons Atlanta Might Lose This Game

Nov 29, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) attempts to shoot against Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) during the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

This will be Atlanta's first look at center Jarrett Allen this season and his impact shouldn't be underrated. The Cavaliers are usually at their best when he is aggressive as a scorer and the combination of him and Mobley in double-big lineups is still lethal. In the 177 minutes they've played together, Cleveland has a +16.4 net rating. That's equivalent to the current net rating of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have been utterly dominant to begin the season. At the very least, Cleveland can negate the usual advantages of a double-big lineup that some combination of Okongwu, Porzingis and Gueye provide.

It will also be the Hawks' first look at Darius Garland this year, which likely hurts the Hawks more than it helps them. It's true that Garland's defensive liabilities make him a target and he hasn't quite looked like the All-Star player he was in 2024-25 due to his frequent injuries this year. So far, he has only played in five games. However, he still has an excellent AST% of 32.6% and he does an excellent job of weaponizing Mobley. In the 96 minutes he and Mobley have been on the floor together, Mobley has a plus-minus of 21.4 compared to -0.2 when he's not playing with Garland. Unsurprisingly, the Cavaliers have an incredible +31.2 net rating when they are on the court together. The numbers are somewhat reflective of a small sample size, but the Cavaliers do get better play out of Mobley when Garland is on the court and that makes him a problem for the Hawks to deal with.

While there's more projection involved in imaging what Allen and Garland might provide on the court this year, there's very little to project with Donovan Mitchell. He has been absolutely fantastic for the Cavaliers this year and has a dark-horse case for MVP consideration. Mitchell is averaging 29.9 points and 5.5 assists on a sensational 64.3 TS%. He's taking over ten threes a game and making them at a 38.3% clip while also shooting a career-high 58% from midrange. He is also shouldering a sizable playmaking load - his 28.3 AST% is tied for the highest of his career thus far. Considering this defense just got diced up by CJ McCollum, there isn't a lot of optimism that the Hawks will be able to do much to slow Mitchell down tonight.

Injury Report

Atlanta Hawks: Trae Young, N'Faly Dante and Nikola Durisic are all out.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Jarrett Allen is probable while Craig Porter Jr and Dean Wade are both questionable. Max Strus and Sam Merrill are out.

How to Watch

Here is how you can watch tonight's game:

Tip-off time: 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA

Where to Watch: FanDuel Sports Network

Projected Starting Lineups

Hawks

G - Dyson Daniels

G - Nickeil Alexander-Walker

F - Zaccharie Risacher

F - Jalen Johnson

C - Kristaps Porzingis

Cavaliers

G - Darius Garland

G - Donovan Mitchell

F - DeAndre Hunter

F - Evan Mobley

C - Jarrett Allen