Hawks vs Pelicans: Game Preview, Injury Report, Projected Starting Lineup for Tonight's Matchup

After winning five straight without Trae Young, the Atlanta Hawks have come back down to earth in their past two games. They narrowly lost to the Pistons, but it's hard to really fault them for not being able to get a win against one of the best teams in the NBA right now. Their last game was a far more disappointing effort - they gave up 135 points to a Spurs lineup without Victor Wembanyama and Dylan Harper.

Jalen Johnson's offensive production is starting to get normalized, but he still put forth an incredible 26 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. However, he was outdone by Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who scored a career-high 38 points where he made eight threes, dished out five assists and blocked three shots. He has been an incredible all-around player for Atlanta and this game was perhaps the best depiction of that. Kristaps Porzingis and Onyeka Okongwu also played well, combining for 30 points, 12 rebounds and five threes. The fact that the Hawks have kept a capable jump shooter at the center spot for practically all their lineups has been a rare advantage for them.

However, their defensive effort as a team was just lackluster. Johnson repeatedly had multiple mistakes on defense due to a lack of awareness and it somewhat undercut his production on offense. As a team, though, the Hawks just could not get turnovers or stops in order to cut into San Antonio's extended runs and they had to rely on shooting enough to keep up with them. That is not a sustainable formula and despite shooting a staggering 54% from deep, they ultimately fell short against a beatable Spurs team.

Tonight's game against the New Orleans Pelicans is quietly a must-win for the Hawks. They have an opportunity to right the ship after two bad games on defense while also being able to help themselves out in the 2026 NBA Draft. As many fans know, the Hawks have control over the Pelicans' first-round pick and New Orleans is currently the worst team in the Western Conference at 2-14. A win tonight would help Atlanta get a better draft pick while also helping them keep pace in the Eastern Conference.

By the Numbers

Dyson Daniels, Daniels, Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, NB — Dec 2, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) is defended by New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray (5) in the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Hawks' offense wasn't the reason for their loss against the Spurs and their excellent production has pushed them up the rankings in many offensive metrics of success. They're 17th in points, 7th in FG%, 9th in 3P%, 18th in FT%, 25th in rebounds (28th in OREB), 2nd in assists and 17th in turnovers per game. They're 16th in offensive rating on the year, but these games are still an excellent supporting argument in having the offense run through multiple players rather than solely Trae Young.

Atlanta's defense is slowly starting to fall back towards the middle of the league after a strong start. On a per-game basis, Atlanta ranks 15th in points allowed, 12th in FG% allowed, 7th in 3P% allowed, 23rd in rebounds allowed, 5th in steals and 9th in blocks. They're 15th in defensive rating on the year, which is a dissapointing fall from their previous top-10 mark.

Despite having a lot of intriguing talent and exciting rookies, the Pelicans aren't a very good offense. They're 30th in points, 27th in FG%, 24th in 3P%, 24th in FT%, 26th in rebounds (8th in OREB), 30th in assists and 22nd in turnovers per game. They've gotten some good performances from Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears, but the larger reality of the season suggests that this team should not be able to crack Atlanta's defense.

New Orleans also isn't a good defense team. They're 24th in points allowed, 28th in FG% allowed, 18th in 3P% allowed, 19th in rebounds allowed, 7th in steals and 30th in blocks. The Hawks have played two fairly tough defenses and they should be able to get some reprieve tonight against a defense that has some great players, but a ton of targets as well.

Three Reasons Atlanta Can Win This Game

Jalen Johnson, Johnson, Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, NB — Dec 2, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) dribbles against the New Orleans Pelicans in the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Simply put, New Orleans is 28th in fast break points conceded and the Hawks are 6th in fast break points. The Pelicans have struggled to get back on defense all season long, especially when they turn the ball over. Both Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker are quite good at forcing steals and Jeremiah Fears is still coming into his own as a ball-handler. This might be a game where the Hawks can just out-run the other team and capitalize on their mistakes.

Since getting elevated into the starting lineup, Derik Queen has made a massive difference for the Pelicans. He's coming off the best two games of his young career - a 30-point explosion versus the Nuggets and a 20 point, 11 rebound and seven assist performance versus the Dallas Mavericks. However, he's quietly not a very good rebounder (under 60th percentile in both offensive and defense rebounding) and his defense is still coming along. Atlanta has the defensive personnel to slow Queen down - they have three capable defenders at the center spot with Mo Gueye, Kristaps Porzingis and Onyeka Okongwu. All three of those players are also capable of drawing Queen out and exploiting him on defense. He's still going to have some incredible passes, but the Hawks should be able to keep him in check if they play up to their talent.

Despite being ninth in bench points, the Pelicans' bench has the third-worst plus-minus among all NBA teams. They just don't have a lot of depth in their roster, which stands in stark contrast to the Hawks' bevy of players that have stepped up for them at different times throughout the year. Asa Newell, Vit Krejci and Onyeka Okongwu have all had games that swung victories for the Hawks.

Three Reasons Atlanta Might Lose This Game

Trey Murphy III, Murphy, Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, NB — Dec 2, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III (25) dribbles against the Atlanta Hawks in the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

One of the most confusing parts of this Pelicans team is their poor performance despite having two excellent wings in Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III. Murphy started the year off slow, but he's been rounding back into his form as of late. He's now averaging 20.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists on 62.4 TS% and scored 20+ points in four of his last five games. Considering the Hawks' defensive miscues as of late, it's possible that they might struggle to slow down Murphy tonight.

While this statistic is somewhat a function of the impact that Kevon Looney provides, one of the few strengths that the Pelicans have is their offensive rebounding. They're 8th in offensive rebounds per game and they do have a lot of size in their starting lineup outside of Fears. The Hawks haven't been very good on the boards this year and they're especially bad at giving up offensive rebounds. If the Hawks don't play with physicality on the boards, they may not get enough possessions to beat New Orleans.

The Pelicans aren't competitive in very many of their fourth quarters, but they've been much better as of late in those situations. Since firing head coach Willie Green, they've scored the sixth-most points in fourth quarters and have the 12th best plus-minus. They've gone 0-6 thus far, but one could argue that they are due for some positive regression in that area considering how well they've been playing in the fourth quarter.

Injury Report

Atlanta Hawks: Trae Young and N'Faly Dante are both out while Onyeka Okongwu is questionable.

New Orleans Pelicans: New Orleans is on a back-to-back, so they have not released their injury report yet.

How to Watch

Here is how you can watch tonight's game:

Tip-off time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA

Where to Watch: FanDuel Sports Network

Projected Starting Lineups

Hawks

G - Dyson Daniels

G - Nickeil Alexander-Walker

F - Zaccharie Risacher

F - Jalen Johnson

C - Kristaps Porzingis

Pelicans:

G - Jeremiah Fears

G - Herb Jones

F - Trey Murphy III

F - Zion Williamson

C - Derik Queen