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 (#77) of the 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.

Forward - John Collins (Atlanta Hawks)

John Collins is a key player for the Atlanta Hawks, and has huge potential. At the power forward position, Collins' athleticism is tremendous, and it allows him to get some easy buckets.

In the 2020-21 NBA season, Collins has been an effective player in every offensive area. He is averaging 17.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

While those stats are not as impressive as the 21.6 points and ten rebounds he put up last season, Collins remains an efficient player with a shooting split of 55/41/83.

Against the Dallas Mavericks on 3rd February, Collins scored a season-high 35 points (career-high) and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Forward - Kristaps Porzingis (Dallas Mavericks)

Kristaps Porzingis (#6) of the Dallas Mavericks

Kristaps Porzingis has played 14 games for the Dallas Mavericks in the current campaign, and he is putting up similar numbers to that from last season.

Provided he remains healthy, Porzingis has the talent and presence to excel for Rick Carlisle's team.

Porzingis is averaging 20 points and nine rebounds per night for the Dallas Mavericks since returning to action on January 13th. He missed the start of the year with issues related to the meniscus tear he suffered in the 2020 NBA Playoffs.

Against the Atlanta Hawks on 3rd February, Porzingis scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. This season, he has made 46% of his field goals, 33% from the three-point line and 85% from the FT line.

Center - Clint Capela (Atlanta Hawks)

Clint Capela is having a strong season and is emerging as a candidate for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award.

The Hawks' center has been very effective for Lloyd Pierce's team and is averaging 13.7 points per game and leads the NBA with 14.6 rebounds per night.

Impressively, for a team that is not the best defensively, Capela has a 103 Defensive Rating. He leads the team in that department and is the only starter with a Defensive Rating lower than 111 (points allowed per 100 possessions).

Capela is third in the league in blocks per game (2.4) and sixth in Defensive Rating this season.