Kembali
The Atlanta Hawks were able to break their three-game losing streak last night when they took down the Cleveland Cavaliers and moved their record to 3-3. After a tough six-game start to the season in terms of the quality of teams they played, the Hawks are going to face one of the worst teams in the NBA.
The New Orleans Pelicans have a lot of connections with the Hawks due to a number of trades the two teams have made over the years. Atlanta sent Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans for Dyson Daniels and a first-round pick that could convey in the upcoming draft (least favorable of NOP and Milwaukee, top-four protected), as well as a trade made during the 2025 draft that landed New Orleans Derik Queen, while Atlanta got Asa Newell and a draft pick that later became Kingston Flemings.
Ahead of Saturday's matchup, the Hawks have released their injury report for the game, and there are no surprises ahead of the Halloween matchup.
Jock Landale (nasal fracture) is available. Mouhamed Gueye (left foot fracture) and Henri Veesaar (torn right ACL) are out.
The Hawks have not given an update on when Gueye might be available to come back this season, while Veesaar is, of course, out for the season.
The Hawks got a needed win over the Cavaliers on Friday and while the Pelicans are not a very good team, they have enough talent to take down any team on any given night. They collected their first win of the season on Thursday against the Sacramento Kings, but they have been close in other games and their record could be much different if a couple of things had gone their way in other games.
But the Hawks are the better team and if they play their best game, they are going to leave with a road victory against New Orleans.
The key to the Hawks continuing to win might be Onyeka Okongwu. Okongwu had his best game of the season against the Cavaliers. He notched his first double-double of the season and 68th of his career, with a game-high 29 points and 12 rebounds to go along with two assists, one steal and one block in 33 minutes of action (11-17 FGM, 4-6 3FGM and 3-4 FTM and it marked his eighth career game with 25+ points and 10+ rebounds.
Can he have a repeat performance tomorrow night vs New Orleans?