Hawks Make Big Change In Their Starting Lineup Ahead of Sunday's Game vs Brooklyn

The Hawks starting five will remain the same today when they take on the Brooklyn Nets

Feb 20, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) handles the ball against the Miami Heat in the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

After taking a tough loss at home vs Miami on Friday night, the Atlanta Hawks remain at home for a crucial stretch of games against some of the worst teams in the NBA. Today, they face the Brooklyn Nets, losers of three in a row and a team that has only won 15 games this season.

The Hawks have nine of their next ten games at home and they face some of the worst teams in the NBA during that span. If the Hawks are going to make a charge up the standings and get above .500, now is the time to do it.

The Hawks are going to be making a big change in their starting lineup today. CJ McCollum is going to be inserted into the starting lineup today in place of Zaccharie Risacher. It will be McCollum's first career start for the Hawks and now Risacher, the former No. 1 pick, is going to be coming off the bench. Here is the lineup for today:

G- Nickeil Alexander-Walker

G- Dyson Daniels

G- CJ McCollum

F- Jalen Johnson

C- Onyeka Okongwu

Who wins?

Sunday's matinee meeting with Brooklyn marks the second game of a four-game regular season series between these two clubs. The Hawks took the first game on 10/29 in Brooklyn, behind a 12-point, 14-rebound double-double from Onyeka Okongwu and a team-leading 23 points from Jalen Johnson. Atlanta enters the match having won three of its last four games over Brooklyn, including two straight contests. In four career contests against the Nets, Hawks second-year forward Zaccharie Risacher is averaging 17.3 points on .542 FG% and .400 3FG%.

Jalen Johnson is coming off of his 11th triple-double of the season on 2/20, the most triple-doubles in a single season in franchise history and the second-most amongst all players in the NBA this season, finishing with 16 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists in 35 minutes. So far this season, Johnson is averaging 23.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 1.3 steals, one of only two players in the NBA averaging at least 23.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 8.0 helpers, joining Nikola Jokic. He currently ranks fifth in assists per game, seventh in rebounds per game and 21st in points per game. Johnson has handed out five-or-more assists in 44 straight games, tied with Cade Cunningham for the longest such assist streak in the NBA this season.

Johnson, a first-time All-Star, is averaging 26.0 points, 12.3 rebounds, 9.9 assists and 1.9 steals over his past seven games. He's the first Hawk in franchise history to secure those averages over a seven-game span, per Stathead, and one of only two players to do so in the NBA this season (Nikola Jokic: 2x).

In Atlanta's most recent outing against Miami on 2/20, CJ McCollum netted 20 points on 8-16 shooting from the field, including a 4-8 mark from deep, two rebounds and one assist in 27 minutes off the bench. In 16 games as a reserve for the Hawks, the Canton, Ohio, native is averaging 18.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 28.3 minutes. His 18.3 points per game leads all reserves in the NBA since 1/11. McCollum, in his 13th NBA season, has poured in 16,414 points in his career, passing Joe Dumars (16,401, 120th) and Jerry Stackhouse (16,409, 119th) on the NBA's all-time scoring list on 2/20.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker is coming off his 31st 20-point performance of the season on 2/20, finishing with 20 points, in addition to three rebounds and three assists in 37 minutes of play. Through 56 games played this season, the Virginia Tech product has totaled 1,118 points, 201 rebounds, 207 assists, and 66 steals, becoming one of only 10 players in the NBA this season to tally at least 1,000 points, 200 rebounds, 200 assists, and 60 steals. He's shooting .373% from three-point territory this season, the eighth-best clip amongst all players attempting at least 8.0 triples per game.

Against Miami, Onyeka Okongwu recorded 22 points on 8-12 shooting from the field, including a 4-5 clip from three-point land, three rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 29 minutes. Okongwu now owns 379 career blocks, passing John Collins (377) for the 11th-most rejections in franchise history, with his first block of the game on 2/20. The sixth-year center has buried 107 three-pointers this season, one of only three centers in the NBA to hit the century mark: Naz Reid (139), Myles Turner (108), and Okongwu (107).