The Hawks head into Washington tonight trying to close out a three-game road trip, and they’ll see the Wizards again on Friday in Atlanta. Atlanta comes in at 4-4 after a win over the Indiana Pacers that didn’t exactly leave anyone dazzled, especially with Indiana working with only six available players.
Washington has looked solid early, with Anthony Davis playing like himself and rookie A.J. Dybantsa flashing the kind of talent that made him the No. 1 overall pick. And if this matchup turns into a paint battle, the Hawks may be in trouble.
Atlanta has allowed the fourth-most points in the paint in the NBA, and the Pacers just put up 54 points there against them with that six-man rotation. That’s a bad setup against a Wizards team that likes to score inside and isn’t built around three-point volume. Anthony Davis has a real chance to take over if the Hawks can’t offer much resistance at the rim.
The bigger question for Atlanta is whether it can still win while giving up so much around the basket. The answer may come down to shot-making.
One Hawks player who could swing that balance is Daniels. Fifteen points doesn’t sound like a mountain, but he’s currently in a five-game stretch of scoring under 10 points.
That run is due to end tonight, and the Hawks could use it. If Daniels gets more aggressive, Atlanta’s offense may find some rhythm, and there’s also a chance he turns steals into easy points.
Alex Sarr could make that tougher if he plays, but the expectation here is that Daniels gets going.
The other swing factor is the three-point line. Washington has the best three-point defense in the NBA so far, but it also allows 41 attempts per game, one of the highest marks in the league. That opens the door for some shooting variance, and the Hawks may be the ones who cash in.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, CJ McCollum, Aaron Wiggins, and Onyeka Okongwu are the names expected to fuel Atlanta from deep, and the prediction here is that hot shooting carries the Hawks to a win.
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Young has fit quickly in Washington as a playmaker, and the Wizards are showing enough early competitiveness to make this more than just a reunion game. Both teams enter the season with playoff ambitions in the Eastern Conference, which gives this meeting a sharper edge than a typical early-season crossover and makes Atlanta's first chance to answer the debate around the move feel especially important. [Read more 🡒]