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Atlanta Hawks: Keys and lineups against the Dallas Mavericks

By Matthew Hallett

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 28: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks reacts with Clint Capela #15 during the first half against the Detroit Pistons at State Farm Arena on December 28, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 28: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks reacts with Clint Capela #15 during the first half against the Detroit Pistons at State Farm Arena on December 28, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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The Atlanta Hawks, fresh off a closely fought loss against the Los Angeles Lakers, welcome the Dallas Mavericks to town for their second straight home game. The Mavericks are surprisingly sitting 13th in the Western Conference with a record of 8-13.

Their superstar, Luka Doncic is averaging 27.3 points, 9.4 assists, and 9.0 rebounds per game. He was without the other head of the monster, Kristaps Porzingis for the start of the season, and the team has not looked their usual self.

The Mavericks have lost their last six games straight and nine of their last 11. The Hawks have only recently arrested a similar skid. The difference being that the Mavericks have their full roster available, the Hawks were struck down by injury. Let’s take a look at the keys to the game.

Atlanta Hawks key No. 1) Continue to feed the beast inside.

Clint Capela is playing at an All-Star level now that he has found his home in Atlanta. He is averaging 13.8 points, 14.4 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game. He is shooting the ball at 55.7 percent from the floor. He is also defending the paint as though he paid for it.

On top of this, Capela has found great chemistry with point guard Trae Young on offense and is helping open up the floor for the team. The Mavericks have no one who can go with Capela and he needs to punish their interior defense every chance he gets.

Atlanta Hawks key No. 2) Make Luka Doncic work on defense.

For the second straight game, the key matchup for the night would have involved De’Andre Hunter. However, with him continuing to be out with his knee issue the Hawks need to make Doncic work hard on defense. As a result, he will not be able to be the all-out offensive machine we know he can be.

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Sending the play through his man is always a good way to make this happen. The Hawks can also get good action screening and forcing the switch so that he has to guard Young as often as possible. Then at the other end, sending different looks at him as often as possible defensively will hopefully stop any rhythm he is looking to gather on offense.

Atlanta Hawks lineup prediction.

There is no reason that the Hawks should not use the same starting lineup as they did against the Lakers. They all did their jobs well, Kevin Huerter shot well from deep, rebounded the ball, and distributed to his teammates as required.

John Collins had a good game with 22 points and seven rebounds, shooting the ball well from the field. Clint Capela had his 10th straight double-double and 16th straight double-digit rebounding performance.

Next. De'Andre Hunter is the third cornerstone. dark

Trae Young had a huge double-double with 25 points and 16 assists. He did not shoot the ball well but impacted the game so much on defense. Cam Reddish was called into the starting lineup and will continue to get better for the run, and he will look to take the lion’s share of the defensive work on Doncic.

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