Atlanta Hawks vs Dallas Mavericks Prediction: Combined starting 5 featuring Trae Young and Luka Doncic
Trae Young and Luka Doncic will meet on February 10th in the 2020-21 NBA when the Atlanta Hawks visit the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. It will be their fourth career meeting.
In the 2018 NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks selected Doncic third while the Mavs picked up Young with the fifth pick. An ensuing trade made them switch sides.
On that note, let us have a look at a combined lineup of the Atlanta Hawks and the Dallas Mavericks featuring Trae Young and Luka Doncic.
Atlanta Hawks vs Dallas Mavericks Prediction: Combined starting 5
This will be Doncic and Young' second meeting of the 2020-21 NBA season. They met on February 3rd at Atlanta, where the Atlanta Mavericks took a 122-116 win.
In their three previous encounters, the Dallas Mavericks won twice, with Doncic averaging 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists; he struggled from the field, though, making only 38.5% of his shots.
Meanwhile, Young averaged 20 points and eight assists in these three meetings, doing so with a shooting split of 45/35/75.
In the current season, both the Atlanta Hawks and the Dallas Mavericks have losing records. The Atlanta Mavericks are 11-12 but are in the postseason places in the Eastern Conference. The Dallas Mavericks, on the other hand, are 13th in the West despite their current two-game winning streak.
In their last game, the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Toronto Raptors 131-121. Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks beat the Golden State Warriors, a game that featured a tremendous battle between Stephen Curry and Doncic, before beating the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Both young players have played well for their teams and are expected to make the postseason in their respective conferences.
Doncic, in particular, looks to be a clear candidate for the NBA MVP award, even with the Dallas Mavericks struggling this season.
So, without further ado, let's take a look at a hypothetical combined starting five of the Atlanta Hawks and the Dallas Mavericks featuring the two players.
Guard - Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks)
Luka Doncic remains in the NBA MVP conversation even though the Dallas Mavericks have struggled so far. Of course, they have had to deal with a lot of difficulties o injuries and the league's health and safety protocol.
However, if the Dallas Mavericks make the NBA Playoffs with a high seed, Doncic might be the strongest candidate for the NBA MVP award. The 22-year-old guard is averaging 27 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in the current campaign and has made 46% of his field goals despite struggling from the 3P line (31%).
Doncic also leads the league in total assists and triple-doubles (six).
Guard - Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks)
The Atlanta Hawks and Trae Young started the 2020-21 NBA season on a hot streak before they hit a rough patch. Nevertheless, they are playing better than they did last season and are in the postseason conversation.
Young is a dynamic scorer and is putting up big numbers again. He is averaging 26.7 points, nine assists and four rebounds per game this season. Moreover, He has made 42% of his field goals, 37% from the three-point line and 89% from the free-throw mark.