Three Bold Atlanta Hawks Predictions For Tonight's Preseason Game vs Memphis

The Atlanta Hawks begin their preseason action tonight at home against the Memphis Grizzlies.

When we last saw the Hawks, they were getting blown off their home floor in the playoffs against the Knicks, but that loss overshadowed the fact that the Hawks went 20-6 down the stretch of the season, avoided the play-in tournament for the first time since 2021, and their young talent took noticeable leaps in production.

What can they do for an encore? They will start to show that tonight and here are some bold predictions for tonight's game.

1. Dyson Daniels makes at least two three pointers

The way that Dyson Daniels is talked about at large around the league is unfair to him. Fair or not though, he has struggled to shoot from three in his career and that has made him an easy target to leave open in select matchups. While he is a terrific rebounder and passer, his outside shooting leaves a little to be desired and in workout videos and practice clips, it is clear that is it something that he has been working on this offseason.

I think that Daniels is going to show off the new shooting motion tonight and nail a couple of open shots to get the crowd excited and the fans believing that a turnaround shooting season is on the horizon.

2. Zuby Ejiofor is the team's third center

Who will be the third center on the team has been a big question for the Hawks this offseason. The third center does not get a lot of attention usually, but when Jock Landale got hurt towards the end of the season and was unavailable for the playoff series against the Knicks, he showed there was a big hole at that spot.

So what did Atlanta do to address that spot? They drafted two rookies, Zuby Ejiofor and Henri Veesaar, and recently traded for Dorian Finney-Smith, who is more of a small-ball center than anything, but an option nonetheless.

I want to see if Ejiofor gets the shot at center tonight in certian lineups. You could play Ejiofor next to Asa Newell, Finney-Smith, or Jalen Johnson and see the results. His defense and physicality are the reasons he was picked, but his swinging skill is going to be whether or not he can shoot well enough to stay on the floor.

3. Asa Newell is the primary backup power forward

The backup power forward spot is one that Hawks fans have been curious about, especially since Mouhamed Gueye sustained his foot injury. With Gueye almost certainly out tonight (there are no injury reports for the preseason), that leaves Newell, Ejiofor, and Finney-Smith as the primary options.

Newell was the Hawks first-round pick last summer and he flashed some real promise during his rookie season, though he did not play many meaningful minutes. I think he is going to get the first crack at this spot and will play well tonight. If he can get some consistency on defense, Newell could play a meaningful role this season for a deeper Hawks team.

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