Starting Lineups Announced for Atlanta Hawks vs Toronto Raptors

Tonight's matchup with the Toronto Raptors is more than just another game for the Atlanta Hawks.

This will be their second NBA Cup game, the first of which resulted in a commanding, double-digits win for the Hawks over an injured Indiana Pacers team. Tonight's test will be a little tougher. That's before considering the fact that Atlanta lost their season opener in humiliating fashion against these very same Raptors. Simply put, tonight is an excellent opportunity for the Hawks to get a statement win and prove that they are still a force in the Eastern Conference despite Trae Young being sidelined.

Per the team, Atlanta is going with largely the same starting five that they've used since Young's injury.

Starting 🖐️

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— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 8, 2025

Although he's gotten the start in Trae Young's absence, Nickeil Alexander-Walker's first couple games as a starting point guard hasn't gone well. In each of the three games that he's played at that spot, he's had 3, 5 and 7 turnovers respectively. It's too early to say the Hawks need to trade for someone in order to fill that role, but NAW seems overtaxed in this role.

How about Dyson Daniels in that spot? He's had six assists in two of his last three games on only 5 turnovers combined in those games. Daniels has more of a natural touch at PG and the advanced stats favor that as well. He has a 15.5 AST% compared to NAW's 15.1 AST% and while NAW's turnover percentage is slightly better, he's also been playing at a 24.3% usage rate compared to Dyson's 14.8%. Daniels has just gotten much fewer opportunities to handle the ball, so his mistakes are amplified due to the smaller sample size. While the NBA is trending towards positionless basketball, there needs to be a clear delineation as to who's the lead initiator for the offense. It might be worth considering a change in that regard.

Regardless of whether the Hawks choose to use Dyson or NAW at the PG spot, there are some interesting factors that might swing in Atlanta's favor for this matchup.

The Raptors might be one of the few teams that the Hawks can actually go toe-to-toe with in a rebounding battle. Atlanta has been one of the worst rebounding teams in the NBA, but the Raptors have been in a similar tier and the Hawks have a bigger lineup on paper. Outside of Zaccharie Risacher and Kristaps Porzingis (surprisingly), everyone in the Hawks' starting lineup is a good rebounder on paper. Even Porzingis can get a few boards - it's just that his rebounding numbers aren't as impressive as would be expected from a seven-footer. In the three games since Trae Young's injury, they've actually been 9th in rebounds per game league-wide due to adopting a more team-based approach to their lineups that gets a lot of players who can rebound into the game. To be fair, Toronto has been 3rd in that same timeframe, but this is a decent matchup to see if the Hawks can get boards in a way that they've struggled to do to start this year.

Atlanta's perimeter defense is also going to have a great opportunity to stymie Toronto's offense due to Immanuel Quickley's struggles. Quickley has been shooting 38.2 percent from the field and 27.9 percent from three, which is a massive problem for the team's starting point guard. He also has a career-high TOV% of 12% this year and his AST% of 26.7% is the lowest it's been over any of his extended stretches as a Raptor. RJ Barrett also isn't a great ball-handler - he has a TOV% of 11.2% and doesn't consistently pass well. If the duo of Dyson Daniels and NAW can disrupt Barrett and Quickley, Atlanta could build up a big lead.

Despite having three great centers, Atlanta's been fairly susceptible inside the paint. They rank among the worst teams in this regard, giving up 52 points per game inside. Fortunately, Toronto isn't an especially tough matchup in this regard. Jakob Poetl is a solid starting center, but he's struggled to begin this season as he's averaging 6.8 points and six rebounds per game on 60.7% shooting from the field. That's his second-worst percentage from the field in his career. Kristaps Porzingis and Onyeka Okongwu are both solid starting centers who can take advantage of Poetl and give the Hawks an advantage.

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