Atlanta Hawks vs Miami Heat: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups for Today's Matchup

In recent years, a matchup between the Hawks and the Heat has become a staple of the NBA Play-In Tournament. The Heat ended Atlanta's season last year by knocking them out of the playoffs before getting blasted by the Cavaliers in four games during the first round. This season, the Heat won the first matchup during one of Atlanta's worst stretches of the year thus far. They beat the Hawks by a comfortable margin of 126-111 due to excellent games from Norm Powell and Pelle Larsson.

While it is true that the Heat are involved in trade talks for Giannis Antetokounmpo, he won't be suiting up for Miami tonight, even if he is traded there, due to a lingering calf issue. The Hawks will likely have to face off against a newly minted All-Star in Powell and Adebayo complemented by a solid cast of role players. This will be a more challenging matchup than the one they just had against the Pacers, so the Hawks will have to play substantially better than they did against Indiana.

If they can beat the Heat, that sets the Hawks up for a very winnable game against the Jazz following the trade deadline before they take on the red-hot Charlotte Hornets in a game that could be critical in dictating their second half performance.

By the Numbers

Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, NBA, Wiggins, Andrew Wiggins, Risacher, Zaccharie Risache — Dec 26, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Miami Heat forward Andrew Wiggins (22) drives the ball towards the goal against Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) during the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Atlanta's offense was fine against the Pacers, but they blew a great opportunity to win with poor execution down the stretch. They are 9th in points, 11th in FG%, 6th in 3P%, 20th in FT%, 25th in rebounds (25th in OREB, 17th in DREB), 1st in assists, and 15th in turnovers per game. They're 21st in offensive rating this year.

The defense continues to be a problem almost every single night, and the Hawks need to address this at the trade deadline if they want to make the playoffs this season. They are 24th in points allowed, 23rd in FG% allowed, 14th in 3P% allowed, 26th in rebounds allowed, 5th in steals, and 18th in blocks. They're 16th in defensive rating this year.

Miami's defense has long been the calling card of its team, but the offense has actually been more productive than expected. They are 2nd in points, 19th in FG%, 13th in 3P%, 13th in FT%, 2nd in rebounds (13th in OREB, 4th in DREB), 7th in assists, and 9th in turnovers per game. They're 17th in offensive rating this year.

The defense has had some bad performances, but the advanced numbers suggest the defense is better than it seems on paper. The Heat are 22nd in points allowed, 6th in FG% allowed, 7th in 3P% allowed, 29th in rebounds allowed, 6th in steals, and 24th in blocks. They're 6th in defensive rating this year.

Three Reasons the Hawks Can Win This Game

Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, NBA, Dyson Daniels, Daniels, Heat, Miami Hea — Dec 26, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Miami Heat guard Kasparas Jakucionis (25) shoots the ball against Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) during the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Dyson Daniels actually struggled a decent bit against Tyler Herro during his first season with the Hawks, but Herro won't be suiting up for the Heat tonight. Therefore, Daniels is free to take on either Pelle Larsson or Kasparas Jakucionis, who are much easier matchups for him to take on. He hasn't produced the same steal numbers that he had last season, but the Hawks' defense has actually been slightly better with him on the court this year. Atlanta's defense was 0.1 points per 100 possessions better with him on the court against half-court offenses, but they are 4.1 points better with him in the same plays. Generally, the Hawks' defense is also 2.4 points better per 100 possessions this season with him on the court. He's going to be a big part of slowing down a Miami offense that's produced a lot of points this season.

This would be a great opportunity for Onyeka Okongwu to rebound from a rough first game against the Miami Heat. One of the key factors towards Miami winning that game was the Heat's 52-42 edge in the rebounding battle. They got eight more offensive boards than the Hawks and a big part of that was Ke'el Ware definitively winning the matchup against Okongwu. However, the Hawks won't have Okongwu for this one, and they'll instead have to rely on Christian Koloko. Koloko had a rough game versus the Pacers, but he was pretty good defending Alperen Sengun during the Rockets game and Bam Adebayo isn't an overwhelmingly skilled scorer. It's unlikely that Koloko will be able to give the Hawks anything on offense, but Adebayo has a career-worst 55.2 TS% this season. This might be a matchup where he can actually survive.

Interestingly, this is a battle of the 1st (Miami) and 2nd (Atlanta) place teams in terms of pace. Both of these teams play extremely up-tempo and thrive in transition. However, the Hawks are significantly more productive in transition situations than the Heat are. While Miami has the second-highest number of transition plays, the Hawks are 2nd in points per possession while having the fourth-most transition plays. It'll be an interesting battle to watch as both teams try to slow the other one down.

Three Reasons the Hawks Might Lose This Game

Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, Dyson Daniels, Daniels, Adebayo, Bam Adebay — Mar 27, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) defends Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the second half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images | Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

Even though Adebayo missed the first game against the Hawks and they won, he's hardly an inconsequential player. He's one of the most versatile defenders in the NBA and he's a big contributor towards Miami's strong defensive rebounding numbers. The Heat have a 112.1 defensive rating with him on the floor, which would be in the 76th percentile among all bigs.

Slowing down Norman Powell will also be critical for the Hawks. Powell was essential for the Heat's offense during the first half of the season, and he's averaging a career-high 23 points on 47.2/39.2/84.4 shooting splits. The Heat's offense has been 4.8 points per 100 possessions with him on the court, which ranks in the 84th percentile at his position. He scored 25 points on only nine attempts from the field, so hopefully a fully healthy Nickeil Alexander-Walker can offer some more resistance against Powell.

Rebounding has been a big problem for the Hawks during the entire season, but this is one of the matchups that really might expose them on the boards. Miami averages the second-most rebounds per game in the NBA and they're 3rd in points in the paint. That's worrying considering that the Hawks rank 22nd in opponent points in the paint while being 28th in REB%. The Hawks are going to need to show extra effort on the boards if they don't want the Heat to run away with the possession battle.

Injury Report

Atlanta Hawks: Kristaps Porzingis, Onyeka Okongwu, N'Faly Dante and Duop Reath are all out.

Miami Heat: Tyler Herro is out while Nikola Jovic and Norman Powell are questionable.

How to Watch

Here is how you can watch tonight's game:

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

Location: Kaseya Center, Miami, FL

Where to Watch: FanDuel Sports Network

Projected Starting Lineups

Hawks:

G - Nickeil Alexander-Walker

G - Dyson Daniels

F - Corey Kispert

F - Jalen Johnson

C - Christian Koloko

Heat:

G - Kasparas Jakucionis

G - Pelle Larsson

F - Norman Powell

F - Andrew Wiggins

C - Bam Adebayo