Hawks Hit the Shuffle Button, Hand the Keys to Kingston Flemings

The Atlanta Hawks are officially rolling out a new starting five on Saturday, and it looks like someone accidentally auto-filled their daily fantasy lineup.

According to Underdog NBA, the Hawks will start Kingston Flemings, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu against the Brooklyn Nets.

For context, this is the same Atlanta team that usually runs CJ McCollum at the point to steer an offensive buzzsaw that posted 123.1 points per 100 possessions last season. Swapping a veteran bucket-getter for Flemings is the kind of sudden rotation roulette that makes you question if the coaching staff is just drawing names out of a hat.

Then again, the Hawks are coming off a completely unhinged 139-132 loss to the Washington Wizards. When you give up nearly 140 points in regulation, you are legally required to change something.

Alexander-Walker has been a reliable workhorse, starting all 10 games this season while averaging over 30 minutes a night. But asking Flemings to step in and orchestrate a lineup that relies on Jalen Johnson's triple-double upside and Okongwu's rim-running is a massive swing.

For anyone staring at the betting board, this throws a giant wrench into the math. Atlanta has been treating every game like a track meet, but handing the keys to a new floor general makes their offensive floor a total mystery.

We will find out exactly what this experiment looks like when the Nets come to town on Saturday night. If Flemings clicks, the Hawks might just keep the chaos rolling. If not, expect a very quick hook.