**What:** Charlotte Hornets (8-18) (5-8 home) vs Atlanta Hawks (15-12) (10-6 away)
**When:** 7:00pm Eastern
**Where:** Spectrum Center; Charlotte, NC
**How to watch:** FanDuel Sports Network, NBA League Pass
**Outfitting:** Hornets–City (yellow/orange), Hawks–Statement (black)
**Game Lines:** Hornets +5.5, Hornets money line +170, O/U 238.5
**Injuries:**
Hornets: LaMelo Ball-probable (ankle), Collin Sexton-out (quad), Tre Mann-out (knee), Pat Connaughton-out (calf), Grant Williams-out (knee)
Hawks: Trae Young-questionable (knee), Kristaps Porzingis-out (illness)
With the NBA Cup now in the rearview, we get back to our more regular cadence of games. The rest of the season starts with an intradivisional meeting between the Hawks and the Hornets.
The Hawks are where they always are, pretty close to the .500 mark and sitting in the group of teams that are on track for a play-in spot. They went for big splashes in the offseason by trading for Kristaps Porzinigis and signing Nickeil Alexander-Walker to a big free agent contract, but water always finds its level. The Hawks will be the Hawks.
They’ve been without Trae Young for most of this season, but that could change tonight. It remains to be seen if his return is a good or bad thing. In the four-plus games he played before getting hurt, he shot just 37% from the field and 19% from three. That’s coming off the least efficient season of his career last year. The Hawks were badly outplayed with him on the floor and have done significantly better without him, especially defensively.
In Young’s absence, Jalen Johnson has stepped up to be the new face of the team. He should be an all star this year, averaging 22.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game. He’s registered a triple double in each of his last four games. The outside shooting, which had been a bugaboo for him for most of his career, has been more than satisfactory this season. Alongside Johnson, Alexander-Walker has taken a leap as an offensive player and is averaging 20 points per game. Dyson Daniels and last year’s first overall pick Zaccharie Risacher provide suffocating, disruptive defense on the perimeter.
The Hornets, for their part, have been sneaky been playing better basketball lately. They’re 4-4 in their last eight games, and their defense has been top 10 in the league in that stretch. LaMelo Ball might be back as well to go up against Young in a battle of guards that produce a lot while not convincing the greater NBA public that they actually help their team any. This game could end up being a good measuring stick for what kind of team the Hornets are heading into the meat of their schedule.
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