The Atlanta Hawks will host the Dallas Mavericks at State Farm Arena on Thursday evening.

The Hawks were one of the biggest surprises of the 2020-21 NBA season, as they reached the Eastern Conference Finals led by the stellar play of Trae Young while getting past the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers, and they could have easily made it all the way to the NBA FInals hadn't their star point guard suffered an injury in the series against the Milwaukee Bucks. Atlanta posted a 41-31 record during the regular season and finished fifth in the Eastern Conference, but they looked at their best at home where they posted a 25-11 record. The Hawks also averaged 113.7 points per game while shooting 46.8 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from three-point range last season. During the offseason, Atlanta added Delon Wright and Gorgui Dieng while also locking up long-term deals for both Young and John Collins. That's clearly a success, as the Hawks are looking to assemble a team that can compete for years to come.

The Mavericks were also a pleasant surprise in the 2020-21 NBA season, and while they lost in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers, they forced them to seven games in what was a thrilling series that could've gone either way. Dallas finished the 2020-21 regular season with a 42-30 overall record and posted a strong 21-15 on the road, so they're not going to be an easy opponent in this one. Even though Dallas lost Josh Richardson, but they quickly replaced him by signing Reggie Bullock on a three-year, $30.5 million contract. Aside from bringing back Tim Hardaway Jr. and Boban Marjanovic, the Mavericks' last move of free agency was the signing of Sterling Brown to a three-year deal worth $6 million. Dallas will still live and die depending on how far Luka Doncic can carry them, but there's no question the team looks deeper compared to last season's squad.

These two teams played twice last season and the Mavericks swept the season series, although both games were decided by six points or fewer.