Having lost their two away games this season, the Atlanta Hawks are back on the road on Sunday night when they go head to head with the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center.
This will be just the second meeting between the two sides this year, after Trey Murphy III dropped a game-high 28 points to inspire the Pelicans to a 116-103 victory at the State Farm Arena in March.
Match preview
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The New Orleans Pelicans picked up arguably their biggest win so far this season as they rolled past the Indiana Pacers 125-118 at the Smoothie King Center on Friday night.
Zion Williams shook off a poor shooting display against the Golden State Warriors two nights ago as he dropped a game-high 34 points to go with 10 assists as he completed his third double-double of the season.
Williams led three players with 20+ points for New Orleans, including Brandon Ingram, who notched 26 to record his fourth game this term with at least 20 points, and Jordan Hawkins, who tallied 23 on 7-of-17 shooting from the field.
For head coach Willie Green, this was a much-needed response from his side, coming off the back of three straight defeats, including consecutive losses at the Chase Center in their game against the Golden State Warriors.
Having kicked off the NBA regular season with back-to-back wins over the Chicago Bulls and the Portland Trail Blazers, the New Orleans Pelicans are now 3-3 this season and will look to make it three straight home wins on Sunday.
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On the other hand, the losses have continued to pile up for the Atlanta Hawks as they fell 123-115 against the Sacramento Kings at the State Farm Arena on Friday night.
Trae Young shot 8-of-21 to knock down a team-high 25 points but De'Aaron Fox and DeMar DeRozan scored a combined 58 points as the Sacramento Kings made it four wins on the bounce against the Hawks since a 120-117 loss in January 2023.
Having picked up two straight wins over the Brooklyn Nets and the Charlotte Hornets, Atlanta have now lost each of their subsequent four outings, including consecutive defeats against the Washington Wizards.
Despite adding Dyson Daniels and snapping up Zaccharie Risacher as the first overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft, Quin Snyder's side have continued to struggle on defence, allowing the third most points per game through six matches this season (123.5 points) and a league-high 41.0% from behind the arc.
While the Atlanta Hawks will look to bounce back on Monday, results on the road offer little optimism as they have lost each of their nine games on the road, stretching back to a 113-101 victory over the Chicago Bulls on April 2.
Team News
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The New Orleans Pelicans announced two major injury setbacks, with Herb Jones and guard CJ McCollum set for at least two weeks on the sidelines through shoulder and adductor injuries respectively.
They are joined on the injury table by Dejounte Murray, who is expected to miss between four to six weeks of action due to a hand injury while guard Murphy continues rehabilitation from a hamstring injury.
As for the Atlanta Hawks, they remain without the services of guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, who is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines following surgery over a hamstring injury.
Kobe Bufkin (shoulder), Dyson Daniels (right hip flexor strain) and De'Andre Hunter (knee) missed the game against the Kings and remain questionable for Monday's trip to the State Farm Arena.
Vit Krejci is also out of contention for the Hawks due to a right adductor injury while Veteran center Cody Zeller was not with the squad on Friday night due to personal reasons.
New Orleans Pelicans possible starting 5:
Hawkins, Alvaro, Missi, Ingram, Williams
Atlanta Hawks possible starting 5:
Young, Johnson, Capela, Risacher, Nance Jr
We say: New Orleans Pelicans to win by 5+ points.
Buoyed by their impressive victory over the Indiana Pacers, the New Orleans Pelicans will head into Monday's clash in high spirits as they look to maintain their 100% home record this season. The Atlanta Hawks have struggled to impose themselves on the road and we predict that the Pelicans will come out on top at the Smoothie King Center.
Joshua Ojele
