Five on Five: Comparing the Hawks and Cavaliers' Starting Lineups

These two players are both among the best passers in the NBA. Trae Young is coming off another All-Star season in which he averaged 24.2 PPG, 11.6 APG, and 3.1 RPG, shooting 41% from the field and 34% from three. He led another productive Hawks offense and relied mostly on his passing due to struggling with his efficiency as a scorer.

Young led the NBA in assists last season, but Garland is a very good playmaker in his own right. Although the numbers weren't overwhelming, he still put up an AST% of 30.8% and averaged 6.7 assists against a career-best 2.5 turnovers. It's fair to argue that Garland is a more effiecient player than Young - he shot a career-best 40.1% on seven attempts from deep per game and hasn't shot below 35.5% from deep for a single season. Young isn't as efficient, but he was dealing with Achilles tendinitis all season and doesn't have another scorer on his team on the level of Donovan Mitchell. I think they are similar players, but Young gets the edge due to shouldering a heavier load and putting up comparable numbers.

Advantage: Atlanta

Shooting Guard: Dyson Daniels vs Donovan Mitchell

Dyson Daniels is, full-stop, one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA. There's a case that he is the best, but he needs to show it in the playoffs before he can earn that moniker. Even so, the reigning NBA steals leader had a great two-way season for the Hawks, averaging a career-high 14.1 points on a career-best 54.5 TS%. He's not the most dynamic offensive player, but he does enough to keep himself on the court so that he can exert his defensive advantage on opposing stars. He routinely takes the toughest perimeter assignment and his combination of size, timing and agility is matched by very few players.

Even with his elite defense, Daniels isn't on the level of Donovan Mitchell. The Cavs guard made All-NBA First Team last year, putting up 24 points, 5 assists and 4.5 rebounds as the undisputed top scoring option. Mitchell has also put up big scoring games in the postseason. While he hasn't broken through with a deep playoff run yet, he's one of the 20 best players in the NBA undisputedly.

Advantage: Cleveland

Small Forward: Zaccharie Risacher vs De'Andre Hunter

Over the second half of the season, Risacher thrived in his role by blossoming into a good catch-and-shoot three-point shooter who had some nice moments on defense due to his foot speed. His shooting numbers really improved (46% from the field and 36% from three) over the course of the season. He doesn't have a ton of refinement yet to his game, but there were flashes of a developing handle and he had a great summer appearance in the EuroBasket tournament.

Hunter is a nice complimentary 3&D wing. The former Atlanta Hawk had his best season as a pro in 2024-25, finishing fourth in Sixth Man of the Year voting behind a career-best 17 points on a career-best 40.5% from deep. He's a bigger wing who can hold his own on the perimeter, but he isn't elite at anything. Even so, he's currently shown more than Risacher. The young Hawks wing could quickly blossom into a better player than Hunter, but Hunter represents one of the possible outcomes in Risacher's future.

Advantage: Cleveland

Power Forward: Jalen Johnson vs Evan Mobley

All signs are poised for Johnson to take a big leap in 2025. He is a phenomenal talent who can handle the ball, rebound at an elite level and even create some of his own offense. He was averaging 18.9 PPG, 10.0 RPG, and 5.0 APG while shooting 50% from the field and 31% from three last season before going down with a season-ending shoulder injury. He's consistently struggled to stay healthy, but there's no doubt he's one of the best young forwards in the NBA.

Mobley, however, is in his own tier at the moment. He's the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, finished on the All-NBA Second Team and averaged a career-best 18.7 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists on 63.3 TS%. He also became a viable shooter from deep, hitting 37% of his threes on around three attempts a game. That has helped him stay on the court enough to cement himself as one of the best defenders in the NBA. He's averaged 2.4 blocks a game in his career as an elite rim protector and doesn't show any signs of slowing down. Until Johnson makes an All-NBA team, it'd be hard to put him over Mobley.

Advantage: Cleveland

Center: Kristaps Porzingis vs Jarrett Allen

When comparing the two seven-footers, it's hard to argue that Porzingis is the more complete player. He's coming off a season where he averaged 19.5 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 41.2% from deep on high volume. He's also a complimentary playmaker, averaging around two assists a game in the past two seasons.

However, Allen's strengths are arguably higher. He's a double-double machine who averaged 13.5 points and 9.7 rebounds on a league-leading 70.6 FG%. Allen's an excellent finisher around the rim and serves as an excellent complement to Mobley on defense. His durability also has to be considered - he's coming off a season where he played in all 82 games. Porzingis's career has been defined by his inability to be healthy throughout the course of a season.

Onyeka Okongwu is a good perimeter defender and a great roll partner for Trae Young in the pick-and-roll. He doesn't have the shot-blocking abilities of either Allen or Porzingis, but he's a starting-level center in his own right.

I'd argue Atlanta actually has the advantage here. The skillsets of Porzingis and Okongwu are complimentary enough to give the Hawks an advantage on both offense and defense over what Allen can singularly provide.

Advantage: Hawks

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