The Hawks' Starting Lineup is Pure Chaos, and It's Working
Underdog NBA tweeted: 'Lineup alert: Hawks will start McCollum, Alexander-Walker, Daniels, Johnson, Okongwu on Saturday.'
According to Underdog NBA, the are officially rolling out their chaotic, high-octane starting five of CJ McCollum, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu for Saturday's matchup against the .
On paper, this looks like a 2K MyTeam roster you accidentally auto-generated while looking at your phone. In reality, it is an absolute offensive buzzsaw that turns every single possession into a track meet.
If you think this is just a temporary experiment by the coaching staff, the math says otherwise. This exact five-man unit posted a ridiculous 123.1 points per 100 possessions last season, making them one of the most lethal scoring combinations in the entire league.
They have carried that exact same energy into the new campaign to keep themselves afloat at 3-3. Atlanta already hung 132 points on the and dropped 128 on the Charlotte Hornets earlier this month.
For anyone staring at the betting board or setting daily fantasy lineups, this is the kind of pace that makes game totals look like a typo. When you put a veteran scorer like McCollum at the point and surround him with four long, switchable athletes who just want to run, the scoreboard is going to get a serious workout.
Coming off a tight 114-111 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the clearly realize that trying to play a slow, half-court defensive struggle is a complete waste of time. They are leaning all the way into the chaos.
Atlanta heads to on Saturday night to face the Pelicans. If the home team thinks they are going to dictate a methodical pace, they are about to get run right out of their own building.