Timing is important in the NBA. Teams that are and aren’t playoff-bound are fairly easy to discern after about 20 to 30 regular-season games. Who is and isn’t a contender is also largely well known by about the same point. There’s jostling for seeding and homecourt advantage, but what’s important for teams looking to make some postseason noise is that, come May, the team is healthy and playing its best basketball. Atlanta looks to be fulfilling those two dependencies, which is not great for a Dallas
team trying to halt a seven-game losing streak.
Dallas, at least, can check one of those boxes; they’re heading into Tuesday’s game with as clean of an injury report as they’ve had in some time. Dallas’ young core, Cooper Flagg, Ryan Nembhard, and Max Christie, will all be available to play against a team in Atlanta, with players like Jalen Johnson, Zaccharie Risacher, and Dyson Daniels. It’s a matchup that, if nothing else, is perhaps aspirational, as the Hawks’ youth movement is gelling post-deadline, and has the Hawks, who are 7-and-3 over their last 10 games, fighting to break out of the Play-In Tournament and reach the 6th seed in the East.
No Trae, no problem
Atlanta has hit the ground running in their post-Trae era. Literally. Despite trading a player in Young who is nothing if not a high-pace, high-firepower offensive engine, Atlanta is playing with the second-highest pace in the league over the last 10 games.
Their up-tempo playstyle has the Hawks scoring the fifth-most points per game over that span, averaging nearly 119 per contest. No team in the league has generated more possessions than Atlanta has, and their sixth-best assist percentage indicates that it’s not just playing fast, but also unselfishly and with an ability to move the ball.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, CJ McCollum, Dyson Daniels, and Jalen Johnson are all averaging more than four assists per game over the Hawks’ 7-and-3 stretch. Dallas has just two such players in Cooper Flagg and Brandon Williams.
Best foot forwards
Both lineups will feature future stars at the forward position for both of these teams. For Dallas, obviously there’s Flagg, and for Atlanta, Jalen Johnson has become a do-it-all style player who is filling up the box score. Johnson is leading his team in points, rebounds, and assists, averaging 22.9/10.5/7.9. He’s behind only Nikola Jokic (though by a wide margin) for players with the most triple-doubles this season, with 11.
Flagg is still searching for his first triple-double (He’s had double-digit assists just once this season, 11 against the Lakers in November), but with the team fully focused on his development since trading Anthony Davis, the light couldn’t be greener for him to have the ball in his hands as much as is feasibly possible. Especially as coach Jason Kidd has made getting Flagg reps as the lead ball handler this season a point of focus for his rookie development.
Board battle
The Hawks have been voracious on the board recently. Their rebound rate is 54%, which trails only the Celtics, and they have the seventh-best offensive rebound rate.
The Mavericks and Hawks are roughly equal when it comes to second-chance points scored, with Dallas at 14.7 to Atlanta’s 14.4 points. However, the Mavs are allowing opposing teams to score 16 points on second-chance points, while the Hawks allow just 10.7.
Daniel Gafford and Dwight Powell will have their work cut out for them to prevent the Hawks from crashing the boards and tilting those numbers even further in their favor. With how Dallas’ offense has looked recently, giving up easy second-chance buckets wouldn’t bode well for the team.
How to watch/listen
You can watch the game at 6:30 pm on KFAA Channel 29 or MAVS TV (streaming), or listen at 97.1FM KEGL (English), and 99.1FM KFZO (Spanish).
