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Hornets Take On the Hawks in the Latest Installment of 'The BBQ Series'

Spend V-Day with Tr(a)es Mann and Young in Charlotte tonight.

Philip Trapp

In this story:

INJURY REPORT:

HORNETS: Out: LaMelo Ball (ankle), Mark Williams (back) Probable: Cody Martin (knee)

HAWKS: Out: Clint Capela (thigh), Onyeka Okongwu (toe), Mouhamed Gueye (back), AJ Griffin (illness), Wesley Matthews (illness)

GAME PREVIEW:

Division rivals the Charlotte Hornets (12-41) and the Atlanta Hawks (24-30) face off in Charlotte on Wednesday, a Valentine's Day game that will be the latest installment of the NBA Battle Series loosely known as the Battle of the South or "The BBQ Series."

Believe it or not, a pig trophy is on the line. That's right — the bronze bust of a pig serves as something of a series cup for the opponents, and it will eventually go to whoever wins the season series between the two teams, staying with them for the year.

"The winner of the overall series between the Hawks and the Hornets is the winner of this bad boy," Hornets commentator Ashley Shahahmadi explained during the two teams' last meeting, incredulously holding the swine statue in her hands for a mid-game report on Bally Sports. "The winner of the series at the end of the year gets to hold onto this."

Lucky for Hornets fans, Charlotte is up right now after winning their last two games. With LaMelo Ball and Mark Williams still out, that comes largely on the strength of the five new Hornets players in Tre Mann, Grant Williams, Seth Curry, Davis Bertans and Vasilije Micic. The trade deadline seemed like it was kind to the Hornets this year.

KEY MATCHUP: Tre Mann vs Trae Young

Will tonight be the battle of the Tr(a)es — Charlotte's Mann against Atlanta's Young? Indeed, new Hornets PG Tre Mann (fresh from OKC and after an exciting second start against the Indiana Pacers on Monday) will likely go up against the Hawks star Trae Young. It's certainly something to keep an eye on, as Mann had 11 points, nine rebounds and seven assists over 34 minutes inside Spectrum Center on Monday. Young logged 19 points, three rebounds and 14 assists over 36 minutes amid the Hawks' 136-126 loss to the Chicago Bulls that day.

Hornets

Hawks

PG

Tre Mann

Trae Young

SG

Bryce McGowens

Dejounte Murray

SF

Brandon Miller

Jalen Johnson

PF

Miles Bridges

Saddiq Bey

C

Nick Richards

Bogdan Bogdanovic

The game will air at 7:00 PM ET on Bally Sports Southeast.

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Philip Trapp
PHILIP TRAPP

Philip Trapp is a writer, editor, content creator and social media manager known for his contributions to various sports and entertainment publications and websites. He is currently Staff Writer at Loudwire, a rock and metal music site.

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