Charlotte Hornets vs Atlanta Hawks Preview

Taking a deeper look at the Hornet's first match up with the rival Atlanta Hawks.

Game 3: Charlotte Hornets (1-1) vs Atlanta Hawks (2-0)

Charlotte comes into this early season tilt with the Hawks coming off of a tough loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. The team battled throughout the game but were plagued by turnovers and some dry spells on offense just as they were getting within striking distance. Aside from getting dominated in the paint by Jonas Valanciunas, the biggest concern for the Hornets moving forward is the health of Terry Rozier. 

He injured his ankle late in the game on Friday and his immediate reaction to the injury spread fears that he could be out for a long time. However he did finish the game, but he was seen leaving the arena in a walking boot. In his post game press conference, Rozier seemed confident he would be ready to play on Sunday in Atlanta, but he is listed as doubtful on the injury report. Already without all-star guard, LaMelo Ball, Charlotte really needs Terry to run the offense and provide efficient scoring.

Charlotte will be returning to the arena in which they saw their 2021-2022 season come to an end with a loss to the Hawks in the play-in tournament. The team looks a bit different now than it did in April, but you can be certain that the team will be ready and excited to put up a better showing in Atlanta. The Hornets did an excellent job last season of containing Trae Young and not allowing him to beat them by himself. The Hornets defensive activity and effort on the perimeter so far this season has been fantastic under Steve Clifford, but the Hawks back court duo will present the toughest challenge to date. Dejounte Murray is an all-star caliber guard in his own right, so shifting all of the defensive focus to Young probably won't work out this season against this team. Dennis Smith Jr has probably been Charlotte's best all-around defender so far, and he will need to continue that on Sunday. Clifford will presumably need to rely heavily on his defensive instincts to help limit the Hawk's back court, especially if Rozier can't go.

PJ Washington will have another tough test in this one, as he will most likely be paired up against John Collins. Collins is averaging 23.5 points per game through two games this season on almost 70% shooting. Washington has been Charlotte's most versatile defender for the past few seasons, and he will need to help keep Collins from hurting this team. Washington did an admirable job on Zion Williamson Friday night, making everything difficult for him. PJ rarely allowed Zion to make a clean catch and forced him to work really hard for his points. He will need to do more of that against Collins and cause him to be more inefficient if Charlotte wants to win this game.

On the offensive end of the court, everyone is going to need to step up on Sunday. Not having Rozier will really hurt their outside scoring and play making. The defensive attention Rozier draws is noticeable each time he is out on the court, so missing that will make things that much harder for the rest of the Hornets. Gordon Hayward is the player who will feel most of this added pressure. He has had a really strong start to the season, but this might be the toughest test yet. All of the attention would be on him without Terry, and he needs to step up efficiency wise as well as getting others involved on each possession. Hayward has looked like a guy who has finally started to trust his body again this season. He appears to be playing at full speed, while also mixing his pace to manipulate defenders and get open shots. He has been getting into the paint at an impressive rate, and hitting tough, contested shots once he gets there. He has also been running in transition often as well, converting multiple opportunities on Friday night against New Orleans. Charlotte will need him to be efficient and aggressive in this one.

Most Important Area to Watch

Charlotte was in foul trouble pretty much from the very beginning of the game against the Pelicans on Friday. Valanciunas went to the free throw line 14 times, and Brandon Ingram made all 11 of his attempts as well. The Pelicans were in the bonus halfway through both the 3rd and 4th quarters and they really took advantage, hitting 32 out of 37 attempts in total. Each time the Hornets went on a run to make it close, it seemed as though the Pelicans were heading back to the line to calm the storm and take back momentum. The Hornets had just 14 free throw attempts as a team. Clifford harped on this in the post game press conference, and it will need to be something that is improved for Charlotte. Limiting their own fouls and being more aggressive at getting to the line for easy points will be a major key to this game in Atlanta. The offense without Rozier might be tough to come by, so they are going to need to get more easy ones at the stripe.

2022-2023 Team Stats

Points Per Game

CHA- 120.5

ATL- 112.5

Points Allowed

CHA- 113

ATL- 102.5

FIeld Goal %

CHA- 48.2%

ATL- 47.5%

Assists Per Game

CHA- 28

ATL- 28

Rebounds Per Game

CHA- 44

ATL- 42

Charlotte's 2022-2023 Active Individual Stat Leaders:

Points Per Game: Gordon Hayward (23.0)

Assists Per Game: Gordon Hayward (4.5)

Rebounds Per Game: Nick Richards (8.0)

Blocks Per Game: PJ Washington (2.0)

Atlanta's 2022-2023 Active Individual Stat Leaders:

Points Per Game: Trae Young (24.0)

Assists Per Game: Trae Young (13.0)

Rebounds Per Game: John Collins (10.5)

Blocks Per Game: Clint Capela (1.5)

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