Three Things To Watch In The Atlanta Hawks Cup Tournament Game Against Toronto

Tomorrow night, the Atlanta Hawks will face a strong opponent in the Toronto Raptors, who have not only won their last three games but also handed the Hawks their first loss of the season on opening night. Today, however, we will take a look at three things to watch in tomorrow's game if Atlanta wants to keep hope alive in the NBA Cup tournament and bounce back from an embarrassing opening night home loss.

First dub at the crib 🔥 See y'all Friday pic.twitter.com/UJGMf8UmwN
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 5, 2025

1. Defending transition

Hawks were solid in the halfcourt on both ends in the 1st half

98.1 Halfcourt ORTG
85.7 Halfcourt DRTG

Turnovers are killing them, TOR has gotten into transition on 21% of their possessions

Outscoring ATL by 9.9 points per 100 in transition
— Hawks Film Room (@atlhawksfilm) October 23, 2025

The Hawks flopped in the opener, losing by 20 at home to the Raptors.

It was pretty ugly, particularly in the area of transition defense.

Toronto ended up with 34 fast break points and that might understate it.

Full breakdown to come on the pod.

Come yell at me if you want. https://t.co/XEu8ZLjK0l
— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) October 23, 2025

Opening night, the Hawks were mainly beaten due to transition points and points in the paint, as Toronto outscored them by 30 points, 86-56, inside and 34-11 on fast break points. The key for the Hawks' next game is to be ready to improve their defense in the paint, as they rank among the worst teams in this regard, giving up 52 points per game inside. The Raptors also rank highest in the NBA in terms of fast-break points per game, at 19.8, likely meaning they will make a point of emphasis to attack the Hawks again inside, as the Hawks are giving up 17.5 fast-break points per game.

2. Consistent flow within the offense

Talked on the pods about how the Hawks, absent Trae, will need to lean into motion to create shot quality.

An example here: pic.twitter.com/OO0ZPqMO6e
— G Willis (@willis_glen) November 6, 2025

One of the glaring points for the Hawks right now is the lack of actual point guard play, as they have sometimes looked out of sorts in the last few games without All-Star point guard Trae Young. In the previous game, however, the Hawks looked outstanding as they were able to get easy baskets due to the team's ability to move around and create easy scoring opportunities constantly. The Hawks also capitalized on getting out and running on the fast break, which is something they could likely use to their advantage in tomorrow's game, as they can force a good amount of turnovers and didn't really get on the break in the first game, scoring only 11 fast-break points.

3. Another bounce back performance for Dyson Daniels

This is EXACTLY what Atlanta needs out of Dyson Daniels, especially with Trae Young out

Dyson needs to continue being confident as a playmaker & dribble-driver, as there’s a huge hole left by Trae’s absence

It opens up space for everyone else to work too pic.twitter.com/qH5kAI2VTu
— Point Made Basketball (@pointmadebball) November 5, 2025

One of the main points of emphasis for the Hawks in this game is Daniels, due to his struggles in the first matchup, as he missed a significant portion of the first game due to foul trouble. Daniels is relied upon as the Hawks' anchor on defense, and without their best player on that end of the court, it will clearly be challenging for them to win this game. One of the pluses for the Hawks is that his offensive game has started to pick up. In his last three games, he has finished with 18 points on better than 60% shooting from the field and at least two or more steals in over 30 minutes of play, which is something that the Hawks will clearly need, as well as his improvement as a playmaker.

1. Defending transition

2. Consistent flow within the offense

3. Another bounce back performance for Dyson Daniels

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