Hawks vs Hornets: Game Preview, Injury Report, Betting Odds, Projected Starting Lineups For Tonight's Game

Will the Hawks beat the Hornets tonight and move to 2-0?

Oct 23, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) dribbles against Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Schroder (17) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Hawks are back in action tonight at home and they will look to move to 2-0 when they face the Charlotte Hornets tonight. Both teams are 1-0 coming into tonight, with the Hornets getting a big win on Wednesday on the road vs the Houston Rockets.

So how do these two teams matchup tonight? Let's preview the game.

Game Preview

Trae Young got off to a great start to the season on Wednesday, finishing with 30 points and 12 assists and making a lot of highlight passes. The Hornets have not been a good defensive team in recent history and Young could be in for a big night tonight.

Young was not the main star of the show on Wednesday for the Hawks backcourt though. That would be Dyson Daniels. Daniels was touted as an elite defender coming into the game and he showed it when he was guarding Brooklyn's Cam Thomas. Daniels finished with 15 points and five steals for the game, but he does need to shoot better from the line, as he was 1-4 from the line. Daniels will likely be guarding LaMelo Ball tonight.

De'Andre Hunter was solid in the game against the Nets, but he faded a little bit offensively after a good start. Hunter finished with 12 points on 3-10 shooting (2-4 from three), but he played solid defense and looked better than his preseason performances.

It was encouraging to see the Hawks be able to win when Jalen Johnson did not play up to his level. Johnson did have a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, but he was 3-8 from the free throw line, had six turnovers and he only took nine shots. Look for Johnson to have a bounce back game tonight.

The center position is going to be something to watch tonight. Clint Capela got the start, but Onyeka Okongwu had the best game of his Hawks career, played more minutes than Capela, and closed the game. Okongwu had 28 points on 11-12 shooting and while I still anticipate Capela starting due to Okongwu not playing much in the preseason, it might not be long before Okongwu jumps into the starting lineup.

The bench is going to be interesting tonight. With Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kobe Bufkin out, the bench is likely going to be Zaccharie Risacher, Vit Krejci, one of Capela or Okongwu, and possibly Garrison Matthews. Larry Nance did not play on Wednesday, but he could see his first regular season action tonight.

Risacher struggled a little bit in his NBA debut. He finished with seven points on 2-8 shooting and going 2-4 from the line. Despite the stat line, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder gave Risacher a lot of praise for how he played:

"Yeah, I thought he did a really good job. And when he's made shots, and what would, to me, the point of emphasis is you're not going to make shots every night, and how do you impact the game other ways, whether it's a pass or a cut defensively. And the other part of that is you don't stop shooting, because he's a really good shooter and I thought again it's hard to separate out one individual you know I know we're talking about that but you know collectively we got to take our, one another up and help each other be better and I thought he did that."

Hawks star point guard Trae Young gave Risacher the assist on his first bucket and he also talked about how the rookie played last night:

"Oh, yeah. It was great. It was great. I mean, that's first of many, many buckets and threes. Zacch's gonna hit. I mean, I know he didn't get a shot going like he's gonna this season, but that's part of it. He is gonna have a hell of a career. I mean, that shot, I mean, his shot is so pretty. So he's got to keep getting on the ball. He's gonna make a lot of shots for us and make our team a lot better."

Risacher does a lot of things well for such a young player, but there are going to be nights when his shot is not falling. He finds a way to make an impact regardless though and he will have a chance to improve upon his opening night performance when the Hawks face the Hornets tonight

The minutes when Young is off the floor will continue to be something to watch tonight. The Hawks were -8 with Young off the floor against the Nets. That could be made more difficult with no Bogdanovic. Krejci ran the offense on Wednesday against Brooklyn.

The guy to watch for Charlotte tonight is of course LaMelo Ball. Ball had a great start to his season on Wednesday, scoring 34 points, dishing out 11 assists and grabbing eight rebounds. This is going to be a matchup of two of the best point guards in the Eastern Conference and one of the highlight matchups of the night.

With Brandon Miller out, more is going to fall on Miles Bridges tonight. One other guy to watch tonight will be Tre Mann, who scored 24 points on 8-16 shooting.

Who will start in place of Miller tonight? My bet is on Grant Williams, but keep an eye on that tonight. Williams played 25 minutes against the Rockets on Wednesday.

Maybe it was just the Rockets having an off night, but the Hornets played well on defense. They held the Rockets to 36% shooting from the field and 30% from three.

Here is how you can watch tonight's game:

Tip-off time: 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA

Where to Watch: Bally Sports Southeast

Injury Report

Dominick Barlow (low back contusion), Bogdan Bogdanovic (right hamstring tendinopathy), Kobe Bufkin (right shoulder injury), Seth Lundy (left ankle sprain), and Cody Zeller (not with team) are all out tomorrow. This is the second straight missed game for Bufkin this season and this is the first missed game for Bogdanovic.

For the Hornets, they are going to be without Brandon Miller and Mark Williams, two huge pieces to their team.

Odds

The Hawks are going to be favorites at home tonight according to Fanduel Sportsbook. Atlanta will be a 5.5-point favorite against the Hornets and the total is set for 227.5.

Projected Starting Lineups

Hawks:

G- Trae Young

G-Dyson Daniels

F- De'Andre Hunter

F- Jalen Johnson

C- Clint Capela

Hornets:

G-LaMelo Ball

G- Cody Martin

F- Miles Bridges

F- Grant Williams

C-Nick Richards