The Atlanta Hawks are, shockingly, back in action tonight against the New Orleans Pelicans in a preseason game in Atlanta.
On this, the first day of October 2018, the Atlanta Hawks are actually playing a basketball game tonight against the New Orleans Pelicans and the team recently announced its starting lineup for the game.
Though the tilt will not appear on television, the game begins at 7:30 p.m. EST and is taking place in Atlanta’s McCamish Pavilion, home to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets basketball team.
The starting lineup for the game was first reported by NBA.com’s Kevin Chouinard:
Lloyd Pierce says that he will start Trae Young, Kent Bazemore, Taurean Prince, John Collins and Alex Len.
— Kevin Chouinard (@KLChouinard) October 1, 2018
There it is. Trae Young gets the nod over Jeremy Lin at point guard, though there is still a distinct possibility that Lin will get the nod when the regular season begins or if Young proves to be overwhelmed by the NBA game early on in the season.
In place of the injured Dewayne Dedmon, Alex Len will start at center, though Hawks fans will almost certainly get a long look at Omari Spellman and maybe even Cole Aldrich.
Similarly, breakout rookie from last year John Collins gets the nod at the 4, though he might slide over to the 5 if a small-ball lineup is trotted out by new Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce.
Kent Bazemore and Taurean Prince reprise their roles from last season as the team’s starting two guard and small forward, respectively, and it will be nice to see those two players back after career-best seasons for both in 2017-18.
Though it’s doubtful we’ll learn much from this preseason bout, this small slate of games before the regular season begins helps to tide over insatiable NBA fans and helps fanbases get hyped for the new additions to the team.
It will be fascinating to see how the new ballhandling aspects of Prince’s game mesh with Young’s ball dominance, and we’re also hoping to see strides taken by Collins and his fellow 2017 draftee Tyler Dorsey.
Who else is excited?
Keep it locked to Soaring Down South for all your Atlanta Hawks news and updates as the preseason gets under way.