Final Score Picks and Predictions For Tonight's Matchup Between The Hawks and The Magic

The eyes of the NBA are going to be on Atlanta tonight.

When you look at the league schedule tonight, there is not going to be a bigger game than the one between the Hawks and the Magic. Atlanta comes into this game winners of nine straight games, the longest in the league and the longest for the franchise since 2014-2015, while the Magic have won seven straight games.

The Hawks won the first two games that the teams played against each other, but those were so early in the year, and Atlanta is a different team. This is going to be the first time that the Hawks have played the Magic since acquiring CJ McCollum, Corey Kispert, Jonathan Kuminga, Gabe Vincent, and Buddy Hield at the trade deadline last month.

This game is big not just because of the winning streaks that both teams are on, but because of where they are in the standings. Orlando is 5th in the Eastern Conference right now, but they are only 2.5 games ahead of the Hawks, who are in 9th place. With an Atlanta win, the gap would close to 1.5 games and Atlanta would own the tiebreaker virtue of winning the season series.

But who is winning tonight?

Matchup Preview

The Hawks are the healthier team coming into tonight's game, with the only question mark being the status of Kuminga, who is questionable. Orlando is going to be without Anthony Black, Franz Wagner, and Jonathan Issac tonight, three key contributors for their team (especially Wagner and Black). The health edge goes to the Hawks tonight.

The two teams are not that different from a statistical profile, even when comparing the numbers in the two winning streaks.

The Hawks are 7th in points, 13th in FG%, 6th in 3P%, 21st in FT%, 18th in rebounds (22nd in OREB, 13th in DREB), 1st in assists, and 11th in turnovers per game. They're 15th in offensive rating this year.

The defense has been much better in their past 11 games, but their strength against higher-level teams needs to be tested. They are 20th in points allowed, 19th in FG% allowed, 13th in 3P% allowed, 26th in rebounds allowed, 5th in steals, and 18th in blocks. They're 12th in defensive rating this year.

They are 14th in points, 17th in FG%, 25th in 3P%, 8th in FT%, 14th in rebounds (20th in OREB, 12th in DREB), 13th in assists, and 6th in turnovers per game. They're 14th in offensive rating this year.

Defensively, they are 11th in points allowed, 20th in field goal percentage allowed, 5th in three-point percentage allowed, 13th in rebounds allowed, 16th in steals, and 13th in blocks. They are 10th in defensive rating this season.

Orlando loves to play with physicality and the Hawks have to be able to match that. They did a great job of that in the first two games that the two teams played, but with what is on the line tonight, expect Orlando to be extra physical and come ready to play.

Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane have done the majority of the scoring for the Magic during this streak. However, don't discount the impact of a guy like Tristan da Silva, who has been red hot from three.

The Hawks' bench is going to be key in this game. While the starting lineup has been among the NBA's best over the last 10 games, the bench is not consistent. Zaccharie Risacher, Kuminga (if he plays), Jock Landale, Gabe Vincent, and Corey Kispert are going to have to make plays. Frequently in the NBA, role players have to step up in the biggest games and make plays. Who will it be?

I don't think the winning streak ends tonight. The game is at home, the Hawks are healthier, and they will get big performances from Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels en route to a win.

Final Score: Atlanta 114, Orlando 109