Feb 24, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guards Trae Young (11) and Dyson Daniels (5) react after the Hawks defeated the Miami Heat at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
The Atlanta Hawks and the Indiana Pacers are getting ready to tip off their game tonight in Atlanta and both teams just announced their starting lineups:
Coming into tonight's game, the Hawks are 7th in the NBA in PPG, 14th in FG%, 16th in 3PA, 19th in 3P%, 2nd in FTA, 25th in turnovers, and 12th in rebounding. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 17th in points per 100 possessions, 17th in effective field goal percentage, 21st in turnover percentage, 14th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 6th in free throw rate.
Currently, the Hawks rank 27th in PPG allowed, 29th in field goal percentage allowed, 17th in three-point attempts allowed, and 28th in three-point percentage allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta is 19th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 28th in effective field goal percentage allowed.
The Pacers have firmly established themselves as one of the ten best offenses in the NBA. They come into this game ranking 9th in PPG, 4th in FG%, 26th in 3PA, 6th in 3P%, 22nd in FTA, 29th in rebounding, and 5th in TO. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Pacers rank 7th in points per 100 possessions, 4th in effective field goal percentage, 5th in turnover percentage, 29th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 19th in free throw rate.
Defensively, they are more exploitable. They rank 20th in PPG allowed, 24th in FG% allowed, 7th in 3PA allowed, and 13th in 3P% allowed. Per Cleaning the Glass, Indiana is 14th in points allowed per 100 possessions and 22nd in EFG% allowed.
Trae Young finished with 28 points and 13 assists last night and shot 9-24. Young had a couple of chances to make some big baskets late, but missed a couple of floaters. Young had one of his best games of the season last time these two teams met and Atlanta will need him tonight.
Dyson Daniels gets a lot of deserved attention on defense, but his offensive game has come around nicely this year. Daniels had a near triple-double last night, finishing with 16 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. If Haliburton plays, Daniels will be guarding him tonight.
Zaccharie Risacher was named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for February, but he could not follow up his 27-point performance on Monday with a strong game. Risacher shot 3-10 from the field and only scored seven points on Tuesday.
Mouhamed Gueye has been in and out of the lineup due to being inconsistent, but he had a strong game on Tuesday. Gueye hit four three-pointers and scored 15 points vs the Bucks, as well as making some big-time blocks. If Gueye plays well, he usually plays more minutes. If not, Georges Niang or Dominick Barlow could see minutes.
Onyeka Okongwu did not have a big night in the stat sheet, scoring only six points and grabbing nine rebounds vs the Bucks. Okongwu has played well overall since being the starter, but he was invisible for most of Tuesday.
The bench has been very good as of late. Caris LeVert had a monster fourth quarter vs the Grizzlies on Monday and followed it up with a 21 point performance on Tuesday. LeVert has been the Hawks best player off the bench, but Niang, Clint Capela, and Terance Mann will need to step up. Mann had a strong first half on Tuesday with nine points, but did not have as good of a second half. Niang struggled shooting the ball on Tuesday, going 3-11 from the field and 2-8 from three. Capela had eight points, eight rebounds, and two blocked shots.
NBA Power Rankings: Atlanta Hawks Move Up One Spot In Latest Batch Of Rankings
2025 NBA Mock Draft: Latest B/R Mock Sees Hawks Take One Of The Nation's Best Point Guards