Atlanta Hawks Will Face a Challenging Opening Matchup

The Atlanta Hawks season will finally tip off this week on Thursday night against the Detroit Pistons. It will be a difficult match-up for the Hawk’s who have a much smaller lineup than the Blake Griffin led Pistons.

The Atlanta Hawks have a rough first month of games scheduled starting out with their opener Thursday against the Detroit Pistons. The Hawks lack the size to guard the Pistons in the post, unless you really want to see Alex Len attempting to guard Blake Griffin or Andre Drummond.

For the Hawks to win their opener on Thursday they are going to have to play smart defense and beat Detroit up and down the floor. They cannot play in the paint with the Pistons and are going to have to make this a three point shooting game.

Their small lineup will have to get up and down the floor quickly and make it tough for the Pistons to keep both big men on the floor.

They certainly have that ability with a lineup led by Trae Young. Young and John Collins are going to have to lead the way offensively as the Hawks figure out which of their young players they can rely on to pair with the two young stars.

Derek Rose has joined the Pistons roster as well and will give Young all he can handle on the defensive end.

While game one certainly isn’t ever a must win the Hawks need this game if they hope to establish themselves as a playoff caliber team. They will face the Spurs, Magic,76er’s and the Heat in the next five games all presumably better teams than the Pistons.

Kevin Huerter has been held out of the pre-season with a knee injury and is likely to begin the season slowly leaving Cam Reddish as the likely replacement. More to come as the Hawks season nears.