The Hawks and the Blazers are getting ready to tip off in Atlanta and both teams just revealed the starting lineups for tonight.
With Dejounte Murray ruled in, the first five on the floor for the Hawks will be Murray, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Vit Krejci, De’Andre Hunter, and Clint Capela.
Portland is starting Scoot Henderson, Ryan Rupert, Kris Murray, Toumani Camara, and Duop Reath. The Blazers are missing Anfernee Simons, Deandre Ayton, Jerami Grant, Malcolm Brogdon, and others. The Hawks are a big favorite tonight and the guys missing for Portland is a huge reason why.
The Hawks are coming off of an unbelievable night on offense, especially after the first quarter. After scoring only 22 points in the first quarter, Atlanta outshot Boston the rest of the way and it was a combined effort from the team. In most games, since Trae Young went down with an injury, the Hawks’ offense has had to rely on Dejounte Murray having big games for them to have any sort of success. Murray has had great games vs. Portland over the last few meetings, including 40 points in the game a couple of weeks ago. Murray is going to be the best player on the floor tonight by a wide margin.
Bogdan Bogdanovic had his best game in a while on Monday vs the Celtics. He scored 22 points on 4-7 shooting and he can be the second best option on the floor when he is shooting the ball well. Portland does not have a strong defense and that could make way for another big night for Bogdanovic.
The two stars of the game for the Hawks on Monday night were their two starting forwards, Vit Krejci and De’Andre Hunter. Krejci scored 16 points, including 13 in the third quarter, and Hunter led the team with 24 points, including a dagger three to put the Hawks up four with under ten seconds left. Krejci seems to have grown comfortable in his role as a starter and his improvement is worth monitoring. Hunter has gone back to his usual starting role after being a bench player and he is playing the best basketball of his career right now, especially on offense.
Clint Capela and Bruno Fernando will man the center minutes for the Hawks tonight and Capela is coming off of a big night on both ends of the floor and another double-double. He struggled with Ayton in the last matchup. Fernando set his career high in points just two games ago vs Charlotte and has been a consistent force of energy when on the court.
