Charlotte Hornets Announce The Playing Status For LaMelo Ball In Tonight's Matchup vs Atlanta

Is LaMelo Ball playing tonight against the Atlanta Hawks?

Mar 12, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) shoots against Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mady Mertens-Imagn Images | Mady Mertens-Imagn Images

As the Hawks and the Hornets prepare to face each other tonight, both teams have questionable tags on their star point guards. The Hornets have just announced the playing status for LaMelo Ball in tonight's game vs Atlanta. Ball is going to play tonight for the Hornets, and Trae Young is going to be available tonight for Atlanta.

This is going to be the second matchup of the year between these two teams. The Hawks were able to win a close game at home last month, but the Hornets were without several of their key players. Now that they are a little healthier, Atlanta can't afford to overlook the Hornets tonight.

Looking at the Hawks

Dec 14, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) signals to teammates in the game against the Philadelphia 76ers during the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

In the game preview for today's matchup, our own Rohan Raman took a deeper look at how the Hawks have been performing through 27 games:

"Atlanta's offense has been surprisingly solid without Trae Young and their most recent win over the 76ers improved their standing in many offensive metrics. The Hawks are 13th in points, 10th in FG%, 7th in 3P%, 17th in FT%, 24th in rebounds (24th in OREB, 20th in DREB), 1st in assists, and 18th in turnovers per game. They're 13th in offensive rating this year.

On a per-game basis, the Hawks' defense rank 20th in points allowed, 15th in FG% allowed, 10th in 3P% allowed, 24th in rebounds allowed, 5th in steals, and 11th in blocks. They're 15th in defensive rating on the year, which puts them in a barely above-average tier despite having two great two-way players in NAW and Dyson Daniels.

Charlotte's offense has struggled in spite of having three talented scorers in Knueppel, LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. They're 19th in points, 24th in FG%, 22nd in 3P%, 3rd in FT%, 15th in rebounds (14th in OREB, 11th in DREB), 18th in assists, and 23rd in turnovers per game. They're 17th in offensive rating this season.

The Hornets' defense also isn't likely to put up much resistance. Although they did hold the Cavaliers to zero points in overtime, that type of effort hasn't been common for Charlotte this year. They are 24th in points allowed, 27th in FG% allowed, 29th in 3P% allowed, 4th in rebounds allowed, 29th in steals, and 14th in blocks. They're 24th in defensive rating, which marks them as one of the worst defenses in the NBA."