Atlanta Hawks at New Orleans Pelicans 10/14/22 - NBA Picks & Predictions

The Atlanta Hawks conclude their NBA preseason on Friday with a visit to the New Orleans Pelicans. Atlanta is 2-1 in the preseason following its 105-99 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. Atlanta had opened its preseason with a pair of victories over the Milwaukee Bucks before losing to Cleveland. Atlanta will open its regular season on Wednesday at home against the Houston Rockets.

In Atlanta's most recent loss to Cleveland, the leading scorer for Atlanta was Dejounte Murray with 17 points, while John Collins scored 15 points and Trae Young added 14 points. With the addition of Murrary, Atlanta is expected to compete with Miami for the Southeast Division title as long as possible injuries to Murray, Young, Collins and Clint Capela do not cause one more to miss an extended period of time. 

The New Orleans Pelicans look for their fourth victory of the preseason when hosting the Atlanta Hawks on Friday. New Orleans is 3-1 following its 120-103 loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday. New Orleans star Zion Williamson turned an ankle in the loss to Miami and is likely to sit out the final game of the preseason for New Orleans on Friday. Willy Hernangomez was the leading scorer for New Orleans in the loss.

Zion Williamson played only 11 minutes before hurting his ankle but scored 11 points. CJ McCollum, who is expected to be one of the leading scorers for New Orleans this season, scored just three points in eight minutes on 1-for-7 shooting. Brandon Ingram continues to suffer from a sore left toe and did not play nor did Larry Nance Jr, Jonas Valanciunas or Dyson Daniels.