What: Charlotte Hornets (17-52) (8-28 away) at Atlanta Hawks (30-39) (16-17 home)
When: 7:30pm Eastern
Where: State Farm Arena; Atlanta, GA
How to watch: Bally Sports Southeast, NBA League Pass
Outfitting: Hornets–City (teal/mint), Hawks–Association (white)
Game Lines: Hornets +8.5, O/U 215.5
Injuries:
Hornets: LaMelo Ball-out (ankle), Seth Curry-out (ankle), Cody Martin-out (ankle), Bryce McGowens-out (knee), Mark Williams-out (back), JT Thor-probable (shoulder)
Hawks: Trae Young-out (finger), Jalen Johnson-out (ankle), Saddiq Bey-out (knee), Kobe Bufkin-out (toe), Onyeka Okongwu-doubtful (toe)
In a weird way, Trae Young being out for this game feels like a stroke of bad luck for the Hornets. For whatever reason, the three time all star has played some of his worst games against the Hornets and consistently plays beneath his standards. His 105 offensive rating against the Hornets for his career is his lowest against any team, and the 21.3 points he averages against the Hornets is his second lowest (only better than the 21.1 he averages against the Mavericks). Not having a star point guard struggling to score is going to make this a tougher game for the Hornets.
The Hawks have been decidedly mediocre without Young, which is about where they were with him. Dejounte Murray has been thriving as the undisputed alpha, averaging 25.3 points and 8.6 assists per game as the lead guy. Jalen Johnson had stepped up to be the team’s second best player, but he won’t be a bother for the Hornets tonight. The biggest worries for the Hornets will be the outside shooting of Bogdan Bogdanonivc and De’Andre Hunter and the offensive rebounding of Clint Capela.
The Hornets have a weird relationship with the Hawks. They always overpeform and seem to have the Hawks’ number despite the Hawks typically being the better team. The Hornets are 2-0 in the season series so far with the last win by a season high 23 points. They did that by hitting their threes and scoring efficiently while forcing Hawks misses in all areas of the floor. That’s the recipe again tonight.
