The Atlanta Hawks have a chance to continue their hot streak tonight as they go for their fifth straight win. Their opponent this evening is going to be the Phoenix Suns, who are also playing some really good basketball right now. The Suns have won five straight games and surged into the top six of the Western Conference standings.

The Hawks continue to play well despite not having star point guard Trae Young and most games, they are doing it with their defense. However, they had an incredible game from guys like Jalen Johnson (3rd career triple-double) and Onyeka Okongwu (career high in points). They are going to face a big challenge tonight against Devin Booker and a Suns team that has been playing very good defense.

The starters for both team were just announced for tonight’s game:

Hawks

G- Nickeil Alexander-Walker

G- Dyson Daniels

F- Zaccharie Risacher

F- Jalen Johnson

C- Onyeka Okongwu

Suns

G- Devin Booker

G- Ryan Dunn

F- Dillon Brooks

F- Royce O’Neale

C- Mark Williams

Deep Dive on Atlanta

Our own Rohan Raman took a deeper dive into the Hawks advanced numbers and how they matchup with Phoenix tonight:

“It’s still early enough in the season where big games can vault teams a few spots up the rankings and they got exactly that against the Jazz. Atlanta is 17th in points, 10th in FG%, 13th on 3P%, 18th in FT%, 21st in rebounds (26th in OREB), 3rd in assists and 15th in turnovers per game. They’re 20th in offensive rating on the year and while it’s not impressive, the offense without Young has been passable as of late.

Atlanta’s defense has been excellent, but they had an off game against the Jazz and allowed a 40-piece from Lauri Markkanen. On a per-game basis, Atlanta ranks 7th in points allowed, 7th in FG% allowed, 5th in 3P% allowed, 25th in rebounds allowed, 3rd in steals and 8th in blocks. They’re 5th in defensive rating on the year and it seems clear that this is going to be a much better defense than the team has fielded in recent seasons.

Devin Booker is having a stellar year for the Suns despite losing two of the team’s major scoring options from last season. He’s a big part of why Phoenix is 12th in points, 13th in FG%, 5th on 3P%, 10th in FT%, 19th in rebounds (11th in OREB), 9th in assists and 20th in turnovers per game. The advanced statistics have them as one of the ten best offenses in basketball with a ninth-place rating of 117.1.

Dillon Brooks, Ryan Dunn and head coach Jordan Ott have led the charge in transitioning one of the worst defenses in the NBA into a rock-solid unit. They’re 9th in points allowed, 11th in FG% allowed, 8th in 3P% allowed, 10th in rebounds allowed, 4th in steals and 16th in blocks. This is going to be one of the toughest defensive matchups the Hawks have faced this year.”

More Atlanta Hawks News:

As leaves fell off the trees near the basketball court and onto the parking lot at Melvin Drive Park, Team Ruwa Romman staffers brought out a folding table from the trunk of a car and placed it under a tree. Next came boxes of voting material and the t-shirts for canvassers. The shirts resemble the glowing signs of a certain local restaurant chain and are given to any volunteers who sign up to help spread the word. 

Romman, one of a handful of Democratic gubernatorial candidates vying for the 2026 nomination, was canvassing in southwest Atlanta on Saturday afternoon. Romman sat down with The Atlanta Voice moments before the first of several canvassers arrived to begin their shifts. She had already been canvassing in metro Atlanta’s northern suburbs and was back in the SWATS to talk with volunteers about why this part of the city was just as important as any to knock doors in. 

“We want to canvas everywhere,” said Romman, who has plans to be in Athens and Savannah on Sunday. The Athens canvass will take place a day after the Georgia Bulldogs will host the Texas Longhorns in one of the highly anticipated college football games of the season. 

Romman represents west Gwinnett County and can be considered one of the key candidates in her district, but canvassing in the SWATS can be considered a strategic move because of some of the other candidates being more familiar in the state’s largest county. 

“Building a statewide canvassing operation takes a long time,” Romman said. “And we’re just getting started. I think this is how you gain momentum.” 

Erica Wiggins, a tall woman wearing black-frame glasses and her hair in a ponytail, spoke to the group of volunteers, staffers, Romman, and Royce Mann, a candidate for Board of Education Seat 8, about Saturday being her first time canvassing for a candidate. Wiggins, who lives in Fairburn, said she came to the canvassing even to do her part.

A woman who only identified herself as Ann was an experienced canvasser and said she decided to door-knock for Romman after hearing her on a podcast. Two male students from Emory University and Georgia Tech, respectively, were there to support Romman’s campaign and knock doors in the majority Black neighborhood. Neither of the young men was Black. 

“These things grow exponentially,” said Romman of volunteer efforts. “The more we lean into people, the more they will have our back.”

Romman said there have been nearly 1,000 volunteers who have signed up. People like the ones in Melvin Drive Park that afternoon. 

“I remember when we first started, we hit 500 volunteers in 40-plus counties, and now we’re at 1,000. It really goes to show how much energy and excitement there is right now. How much heart and soul there is right now, and the fact that people really do recognize that our state is not being represented by people who live like us.” 

Romman added that she wasn’t just talking about age and race. 

When the subject turned to the 2026 gubernatorial primary, which is scheduled to take place on May 19, Romman smiled. 

“I think primaries are healthy, and a good time for people to organize and talk to voters,” Romman said. “Primaries are an amazing time to consider what is possible.” 

Team Romman, led by Anna, her field director, will continue to grow their canvass base week by week, said Romman. The campaign has only been at it for a month, and the momentum is growing.

“We’re already in four cities,” she said. “Our hope is that come January, we want our organizers fully on board and hired on, and we want a consistent cohort of field leads.”

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