Can the Atlanta Hawks make it two in a row?

Atlanta heads to New Orleans tonight looking for its second straight win to kick off its three-game road trip that also includes visits to Indiana and Washington. The Hawks bounced back from their worst performance of the year in a loss to Miami on Wednesday to eke out a win against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday. No games are must-wins in October, but the Hawks did not want to enter this game with a 2-4 record. Instead, they are 3-3 and playing with some momentum.

While New Orleans has a 1-4 record, they have close losses to the Nuggets, the Pacers, and the Jazz this season. Three of the four losses have been by fewer than double digits, and this is a team that has plenty of individual talent.

Here are three bold predictions for tonight's game.

1. Atlanta forces at least 21 turnovers

The Hawks have been one of the best teams in the NBA when it comes to forcing turnovers. They have Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Lu Dort on the perimeter and that can cause a lot of havoc on opposing teams and ball handlers.

New Orleans comes into this game as one of the most turnover worthy prone teams in the NBA, averaging over 17 turnovers per game, which ranks 25th in the NBA. Atlanta is going to have a performance similar to the one they had in Charlotte over a week ago, when they forced 25 turnovers.

2. Onyeka Okongwu has another 25-point performance

After taking a lot of criticism for how he played to begin the season, Onyeka Okongwu responded in a big way for the Hawks on Thursday. Okongwu scored 29 points and picked up 12 rebounds as well. He shot the ball well for the first time all season and was the best player on the floor.

The weakest point on the Pelicans roster is the center position. Whether it is Derik Queen or someone else in the middle, New Orleans is a team that is not strong at that spot and I think that is going to allow Okongwu to have another big game.

3. CJ McCollum bounces back and scores 20 points

McCollum had a really tough time on Thursday when he scored just five points on 1-for-8 shooting and he also had four turnovers. There was no other way to describe his performance other than it being subpar.

He is not going to be facing an elite defense tonight and like Okongwu on Thursday, McCollum is going to respond to the criticism and have his best game of the season. The former New Orleans guard is going to want to put up a number on his old team and I think he can get to 20 tonight while also hitting three three-point shots.