“Winning the offseason” comes with hype and expectations, despite the paradoxical nature of expecting immediate success from a team that’s typically undergoing a sizable amount of roster turnover. It’s this preconceived notion of Atlanta’s potential dominance that has led most to believe that the 1-3 Hawks have underwhelmed to begin the season, with a pair of home blowouts and a 2nd-half defensive collapse against Chicago bringing back painful memories of previously disappointing seasons.

I don’t quite hold that same viewpoint, as the Hawks have shown enough — even in the losses — for me to give them grace as they build continuity and chemistry. Nevertheless, tonight’s matchup gives ATL a chance to take care of business, facing a Brooklyn Nets team that has excelled in chasing their #1 objective, securing a T3 pick in the 2026 draft.

Injury Report:

BKN: Questionable — Ziaire Williams (Lower Back/Glute Contusion), Out — Haywood Highsmith (Right Knee Surgery, Injury Recovery)

ATL: Probable — Jalen Johnson (right ankle sprain), Zaccharie Risacher (Right ankle sprain)

Rest Advantages:

BKN: 1 day of rest w/ travel, ATL: 1 day of rest w/travel

Projected Starters:

BKN: Ben Saraf, Cam Thomas, Terance Mann, Michael Porter Jr., Nicolas Claxton

ATL: Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, Kristaps Porziņģis

Brooklyn’s Top 5 Most Played Lineups:

Atlanta’s Top 5 Most Played Lineups:

Atlanta’s Offense vs Brooklyn’s Defense

The Hawks have been awful on defense, but the Nets have been allowing opponents to score at a GENERATIONAL pace.

The Nets are currently allowing opponents to shoot 70+% at the rim and 44+% from 3, while ranking as the only team WORSE than the Hawks in transition defense, while also fouling a ton & barely generating extra possessions off of steals and offensive rebounds. This is a game where the Hawks offense should face very little resistance, presenting a chance to build on the positive offensive momentum from Monday’s loss to CHI.

Atlanta’s offense found began to hum in their last game, finding a comfortable balance between Trae Spread PNR, KP attacking mismatches and Jalen pushing the pace and making plays out of the short roll. They recorded multiple “kill-shots”, 3 consecutive possessions with buckets, coming in similar fashion to the screenshot below.

Brooklyn’s Offense vs Atlanta’s Defense

Brooklyn’s offense has been respectable thus far, averaging the 10th most passes per game despite their primary scorers reputation of not swinging the rock. They aren’t nearly as organized or fast-paced as Atlanta’s previous opponents, which should give the Hawks more opportunities to set their half-court defense.

Brooklyn gets up a ton of threes, an advantage that could snowball if Atlanta continues their their below average .37 3PAr. Fernandez would be wise to continue to use MPJ in a more off-ball role tonight, as he’ll see Jalen Johnson as his primary defender. Actions such as the down-screen into a handoff will pose problems for ATL, given Jalen’s rough screen navigation in combination with the Hawks’ inability to switch Trae onto MPJ.

Key Action for the Hawks:

The Hawks should take tonight’s game as an opportunity to rebuild Dyson Daniels’ confidence. Dyson has struggled to find his role in this revamped offense, constantly second guessing himself and pump-faking out of open looks. Using a “blur” or “ghost” screen to get him downhill like in the clip below should be viable against this spongy Nets defense, and I’d also like to see Quin put the ball in his hands a bit more tonight as well when Trae’s off the floor.

The Verdict

5 games in, there’s no such thing as a “must-win”. However, a loss today that continues the themes of poor transition defense, an inability to rebound and lack of communication on defense would push that panic-meter a bit closer to the danger zone.

Let me know your thoughts on the formatting and information covered in this post! I’m looking to improve this publication in every way as the season goes along.