Atlanta Hawks vs Golden State Warriors: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups for Today's Matchup

In their first game following the blockbuster trade of Trae Young, the Hawks did a good job of taking care of business. The Nuggets have been a surprisingly scrappy team without Nikola Jokic in the lineup, but Atlanta shut off their water and held them to just 87 points. Jalen Johnson led the way with 29 points, 9 rebounds and six assists while making five threes. Nickeil Alexander-Walker chipped in with 22 points, but the Hawks wouldn't have won the game without a triple-double effort from Dyson Daniels. Daniels had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to go with four steals in his best performance of the season.

They'll now head to San Francisco to take on a Warriors team that is coming off a blowout win over the Sacramento Kings. The Warriors are currently the 8th seed in the Western Conference, so they're in a similar spot to the Hawks this year. It's going to be a good measuring stick game for the Hawks and provides them with a chance to assess how new arrivals CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert fit with their roster.

By the Numbers

Warriors, Golden State Warriors, NBA, Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, Daniels, Dyson Daniel — Mar 22, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) passes the ball around Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) and guard Moses Moody (4) in the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Atlanta's offense has been better over their recent games and they should get a lift in their shooting numbers by adding McCollum and Kispert. They are 10th in points, 8th in FG%, 5th in 3P%, 22nd in FT%, 25th in rebounds (27th in OREB, 17th in DREB), 1st in assists, and 17th in turnovers per game. They're 18th in offensive rating this year.

The defense has started to show signs of being better over the past few games, but it's still largely a work in progress. The Hawks' defense ranks 23rd in points allowed, 23rd in FG% allowed, 12th in 3P% allowed, 25th in rebounds allowed, 5th in steals, and 15th in blocks. They're 14th in defensive rating this year.

The Warriors' offense is always going to be dangerous with Steph Curry, but the offense hasn't been as effective when it's not running through him. They are 19th in points, 25th in FG%, 12th in 3P%, 3rd in FT%, 20th in rebounds (15th in OREB, 20th in DREB), 8th in assists, and 23rd in turnovers per game. They're 15th in offensive rating this year.

Their defense has been extremely solid this season and it's a big reason why they've still been able to tread water in the Western Conference. They are 8th in points allowed, 18th in FG% allowed, 6th in 3P% allowed,15th in rebounds allowed, 4th in steals, and 22nd in blocks. They're 7th in defensive rating this year.

Three Reasons The Hawks Can Win This Game

Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, NBA, Gueye, Mouhamed Gueye, — Mar 22, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Mouhamed Gueye (18) dunks against the Golden State Warriors in the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Mo Gueye had one of his best games of the season against the Pelicans with 10 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and two blocks. However, it wasn't as impressive for him against the Nuggets. He failed to score while pulling down two rebounds and getting one block. Unsurprisingly, he finished as a team-worst -12. It'll be interesting to see if the Warriors present an easier matchup for him. They're short on big men and Golden State has been one of the worst teams in the NBA in the paint. They're the worst team in the NBA when it comes to scoring in the paint and they're only 17th in opponent points in the paint. Given that Kristaps Porzingis is questionable with Achilles tendinitis, this could be a big opportunity for Gueye to feast against a smaller Warriors lineup.

The undersized nature of Golden State's lineup really showed up in their last game against the Hawks. Even though Draymond Green played and overall had a solid game, he and Quinten Post had no answer for Onyeka Okongwu. Okongwu had 22 points, 12 rebounds and six assists while also recording two blocks. They had no answer for him and it'll be important for him to replicate that success if Porzingis is indeed out.

It'll be very interesting to see how the Hawks' new arrivals fare in tonight's game. Washington has yet to play Golden State this season, so CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert have not faced this Warriors roster. However, both of them can space the floor at an above-average rate. That's going to be extremely useful against Golden State's solid perimeter defense. The Warriors have conceded the sixth-worst 3P% to opposing offenses this season, so they are certainly capable of mucking up a team's spacing if there aren't enough shooters.

Three Reasons The Hawks Might Lose This Game

Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, NBA, Curry, Steph Curry, — November 20, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) dribbles the basketball against Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

During the last time the Warriors and Hawks faced off, the Warriors were without Steph Curry and got a bunch of big performances from their depth. Even though it wasn't enough to win against Atlanta, they were still competitive without Curry. It's important to remember that the Hawks got completely out-classed when Curry did play against them. In the game that Curry suited up for, he went 4-6 from deep and scored 23 points, dished out eight assists and also got two steals while only taking seven shots. It was a major factor in the Warriors blowing out the Hawks, 120-97. Daniels and NAW are more than capable of hanging with Curry, but there's little reason to think they'll be able to completely shut down Golden State's offense with Curry in the lineup.

Golden State has struggled throughout the season to find its best starting five, but they seem to have found something with the lineup of Curry, Moses Moody, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and Quinten Post. The reserves of De'Anthony Melton, Brandin Podziemski and former Hawks legend Al Horford have been more effective coming of the bench. Atlanta likely could have taken advantage of Golden State's early struggles to settle on a strong starting lineup, but they seem to have all their pieces deployed in the right way heading into the game.

Atlanta's perimeter defense has gone through its ups and downs this season, but they need to be at their best against Golden State. Closing out on shooters and fighting over screens is going to be critical because stopping their success from deep is critical towards beating them. Golden State leads the NBA in points generated from three-pointers, so they lean very heavily into the three-point variance without much diversity in their shot selection.

Injury Report

N'Faly Dante and Zaccharie Risacher are out while Kristaps Porzingis is questionable. w

Seth Curry and L.J Cryer are both out for the Warriors.

How to Watch

Here is how you can watch tonight's game:

Tip-off time: 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Location: Chase Center, San Francisco, CA

Projected Starting Lineups

Hawks

G - CJ McCollum

G - Dyson Daniels

F - Nickeil Alexander-Walker

F - Jalen Johnson

C - Onyeka Okongwu

Warriors

G - Steph Curry

G - Moses Moody

F- Jimmy Butler

F- Draymond Green

C- Quinten Post