After a brief home stint in which they went 2-1, the Atlanta Hawks are back on the road tonight as they take on the Los Angeles Clippers. This is going to be the beginning of a four game road trip for the Hawks that will see them in Sacramento on Wednesday, Utah on Thursday and finally Phoenix on Sunday.
Atlanta is still continuing on without star guard Trae Young, who is still going to miss multiple weeks with an injury. Atlanta was even more decimated by injuries in Saturday’s game against the Lakers, as they were missing Young, Jalen Johnson, Kristaps Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Luke Kennard, five of their top eight rotation players.
Did not matter.
Atlanta got one of the most impressive victories of the season on Saturday night when they trounced the Lakers, moving their record to 5-5. The Hawks got impressive contributions from young forwards Mouhamed Gueye and Asa Newell as well.
Nov 8, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) and forward Mouhamed Gueye (18) react after a play against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
Our own Rohan Raman took a deeper look at the Hawks advanced numbers through ten games:
“The Lakers don’t have a terrible defense, but the Hawks took advantage of a favorable matchup in order to boost their offensive numbers. Atlanta is 20th in points, 15th in FG%, 19th on 3P%, 15th in FT%, 19th in rebounds (19th in OREB), 5th in assists and 10th in turnovers per game. They’re 22nd in offensive rating on the year. Still, when they play good team basketball, it’s much easier to stomach the fact that Trae Young isn’t at the wheel.
Atlanta’s defense has been making strides and their performance against the Lakers was excellent. On a per-game basis, Atlanta ranks 9th in points allowed, 7th in FG% allowed, 4th in 3P% allowed, 26th in rebounds allowed, 9th in steals and 11th in blocks. They’re 11th in defensive rating on the year.
The Clippers are usually a solid offensive team due to the trio of Harden, Leonard and Zubac. However, they’ve struggled to start the year. They’re 28th in points per game, 10th in FG%, 15th on 3P%, 11th in FT%, 26th in rebounds (27th in OREB), 23rd in assists and 24th in turnovers per game. The advanced statistics don’t paint a great picture – they’re 21st in offensive rating.
LA’s defense was great last year and while they haven’t been as impressive this season, they still deserve respect on that end of the ball. They’re 9th in points allowed, 15th in FG% allowed, 28th in 3P% allowed, 7th in rebounds allowed, 8th in steals and 15th in blocks. Despite being solid in most defensive metrics, LA’s defense hasn’t graded out that well in advanced metrics. They are 27th in defensive rating as a team.”
I think that the injury report is going to be important for tonight’s game, but the Hawks have shown that they have depth in the frontcourt. Beating this Clippers team however is going to be a tougher challenge than beating a Lakers team with LeBron James and Austin Reaves at home. Still, the Clippers could not be playing worse right now and it is hard to trust them without Kawhi Leonard. Expect a slow, low scoring game that Atlanta finds a way to win.
Spread and Over/Under: The Hawks will be underdogs on the road tonight, as they are currently 4.5-point underdogs according to the latest odds from the Fanduel Sportsbook, and the over/under is set at 222.5.
Final Score: Hawks 114, Clippers 111
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