Hawks vs Cavaliers: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineups

The losing streak is finally over in Atlanta. The Hawks got the road win in Toronto last night behind another big game from Trae Young and they snapped their five-game losing streak.

Head coach Quin Snyder opted to go with a lineup change last night with De'Andre Hunter out again and it was effective. Onyeka Okongwu made his first start at power forward and it resulted in the Hawks beating the Raptors up on the glass. The Raptor's size negatively affected the Hawks negatively in the first game, but Okongwu made up for that. Most importantly, Atlanta finally got back in the win column.

Now a game against the Cavaliers awaits. This is going to be a different-looking Cavs team than when the Hawks faced them earlier this year. Cleveland is missing Darius Garland and Evan Mobley tonight and that is two of their best players. Still, they have Donovan Mitchell, who can take over any game he is in.

Let's preview the game and pick a winner.

Game Preview

Injuries are going to hang over this game no matter what. Garland and Mobley are out, but De'Andre Hunter might be out for the Hawks for the fourth straight game. Will Snyder opt to start Okongwu if Hunter is out?

The Hawks have had a significantly better offense than Cleveland. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is fourth in points per 100 possessions, 16th in effective field goal percentage, third in offensive rebounding percentage, and 8th in turnover rate. Atlanta has gotten a lot better at not turning the ball over the past couple of weeks after being one of the NBA's worst teams in that category.

Cleveland had the top defense in the NBA last season and while it is not the best this year, it is still pretty good, but it is going to take a hit without Mobley on the floor. Per Cleaning the Glass, Cleveland is 8th in points per 100 possessions allowed, 7th in effective field goal percentage allowed, and 8th in turnover percentage caused. Like I said though, Mobley is the best defender on the team and he is going to be out and Dean Wade is likely to start in his place.

Much like when they played the Raptors, Atlanta's bottom-of-the-NBA defense is going to be against one of the NBA's worst offenses. Cleveland is 25th in points per 100 possessions, 19th in effective field goal percentage, 21st in turnover rate, and 21st in offensive rebounding percentage per Cleaning the Glass.

Atlanta has a hard time stopping anyone though. They rank 25th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 29th in effective field goal rate allowed per Cleaning the Glass.

Limiting Mitchell is going to be key tonight. Without Garland and Mobley, it would lie on him and Caris LeVert to carry the offense.

Injury Report

De'Andre Hunter's status is unknown for the Hawks, but Jalen Johnson, Kobe Bufkin, and Mouhamed Gueye will all be out tonight.

For the Cavs, Mobley, Garland, Ty Jerome, and Ricky Rubio are all out tonight.

Viewing and Betting Information

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

Location: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass, Bally Sports Southeast, NBATV

Spread and Over/Under: The Hawks are underdogs tonight, as they are 2.5 point underdogs according to the latest odds from the SI Sportsbook and the over/under is set at 240.5.

Projected Starting Lineups

Hawks:

G- Trae Young

G- Dejounte Murray

F- Saddiq Bey

F- Onyeka Okongwu

C- Clint Capela

Cavs

G- Donovan Mitchell

G- Caris LeVert

F- Max Strus

F- Dean Wade

C- Jarrett Allen

If Hunter can't go, I assume Snyder will go back to what worked last night with Okongwu starting. Look for LeVert and Wade to step in for the Cavs tonight with Mobley and Garland out.

Because the Hawks are on a back-to-back and played last night, there could be some surprises on the injury report.

Player to Watch on the Hawks- Dejounte Murray

With Garland out, Mitchell is by far the top option on the Cavs and Murray will be tasked with guarding him. You can't completely shut Mitchell down, but limiting him and how he runs the offense will be huge for the Hawks defensive efforts tonight.

Player to watch on the Cavs- Caris LeVert

LeVert is going to be relied upon as the No. 2 offensive option with Garland out and if he gets going, he can score a lot of points. LeVert is a poor defender though and the Hawks need to take advantage of that.

Prediction

Even though they are on the back-to-back, I think the Hawks can take advantage of the absence of Garland and Mobley and get a win on the road. Cleveland has been a disappointing team this year and that is when they are fully healthy. They are not now and Trae Young will have another big game and get the Hawks the win.

Final Score: Hawks 124, Cavs 117

Report Suggets the Hawks are a Suitor for Utah Jazz Forward Lauri Markkanen

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