It's early in the season, but the Atlanta Hawks have been going through some offensive struggles as of late. They've shot under 45% from the field and 30% from deep in two straight games. They've struggled in the second half to generate any sort of offense with regularity. Granted, Houston is a tough opponent, and it's still very early in the season to draw any sweeping conclusions about the Hawks.

That being said, it is important that they rectify those mistakes because they have a deceptively tricky matchup tonight. While the Miami Heat are 0-4 and new acquisition Giannis Antetokounmpo hasn't quite boosted them into title contention, this is not an opponent Atlanta should take lightly. The Heat are desperate for a win, and they've always been a tough matchup for the Hawks.

Can the Hawks bounce back from their offensive woes and get back on track against Miami?

Game Preview

Boxing In Bam

At his best, Bam Adebayo is a player who can be almost impossible to game plan for on offense. He can guard centers and guards alike, switches with ease on the perimeter, and guards the rim. However, although it's a small sample size, the Heat actually have a better defensive rating of 103.4 when he sits. That doesn't mean he's a bad defender all of a sudden, but he's not quite at his best on that end right now.

Adebayo's offense has been a massive struggle, and I think it's an opportunity for the Hawks to potentially get away with putting Dyson Daniels on him and having Daniels roam. That creates opportunities for more steals, but the Heat have actually been rather good at avoiding turnovers. They're 6th-best in the NBA for TOV%. Therefore, I think it'll come down to whether Onyeka Okongwu can stick with Bam on the perimeter and drag the talented defender out of the paint due to his range as a shooter.

Okongwu's actually covered Bam on 200 possessions between 2024 and 2026 and held up, holding Adebayo to 21 points per 75 possessions on 55.7 TS% and 4.1 turnovers per 75. This is one of the worst offensive stretches of Adebayo's career since he became a starter, so it's a test of OO's defense to see if he can shut down the Heat's big man.

Foiling The Greek Freak

Although the Heat have struggled as a team, Giannis has largely remained very productive. Through his first four games, the newest member of the Heat is averaging 28.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 5.0 assists while shooting 59.4% from the field. He still remains a handful to guard, and unfortunately, Jalen Johnson hasn't been that effective as a defender against him.

To be fair to Johnson, he holds his own, but Giannis has been largely too much for him to handle. That being said, the Hornets found a lot of success with keeping Naz Reid on Giannis. Since Reid's strength made it hard for Giannis to power through him and the Heat are currently 25th in 3P%, it bogged Miami's offense down when Giannis could not get to the rim at ease and they had no real space to operate.

Atlanta theoretically has the personnel to keep a lid on Miami's offense. Davion Mitchell is a good player, but Dyson Daniels has been excellent thus far to start the season on both ends and the Hawks should be able to win that matchup. I'd expect NAW to capably guard Pelle Larsson and the decreased mobility of Klay Thompson means that CJ McCollum or Lu Dort should be comfortably sticking with him on the perimeter.

That leaves Johnson, Okongwu, occasionally Dort, and perhaps Zuby Ejiofor as the only options to guard Giannis. From this cluster, it'll be critical that someone rises to the enormous defensive challenge.

Cooling Off The Heat - From Deep

Both of Miami's best shooters - Thompson and Tim Hardaway Jr. are shooting well below their career averages. Thompson is shooting 33.3% on 8.3 attempts a night from deep and averaging a career-low 9 points. Hardaway Jr's been even worse and he's only connecting on 19% of his threes. That won't hold true forever, but the Hawks need to remain assignment-sound and fight over screens to stay with Miami's two high-volume shooters.

The games against Houston dinged their standings league-wide, but the Hawks are 16th in the NBA in 3P%. I don't believe that number reflects their talent - they're 3rd in 3-pointers attempted, and they've got two high-volume shooters in their starting lineup with McCollum and NAW. They've also got the luxury of bringing Aaron Wiggins off the bench, who's shooting an impossibly good 48% from deep on 6.3 attempts per game while playing decent defense. That being said, they may not have him for tonight's game. That could be a big absence.

In my opinion, Atlanta should be able to out-produce the Heat from the perimeter easily. The real key is going to be controlling the boards and getting to second-chance points. Atlanta is 10th in offensive rebounds per game this season while the Heat are 23rd. Both teams are among the ten worst defensive rebounding teams, but that better favors the Hawks' ability to hustle for second-chance opportunities against this team.

Injury Report

Aaron Wiggins (left knee contusion) is questionable while Mo Gueye (left foot) and Henri Veesaar (right ACL) are both out for tonight. Pelle Larsson is questionable for tonight's game and Simone Fontecchio is doubtful.

Projected Starters

Hawks

G - CJ McCollum

G - Nickeil Alexander-Walker

G/F - Dyson Daniels

F - Jalen Johnson

C - Onyeka Okongwu

Heat

G - Davion Mitchell

G - Pelle Larsson

F - Klay Thompson

F - Giannis Antetokounmpo

C - Bam Adebayo