Hornets clash with Hawks as superstar returns loom

LaMelo Ball and Trae Young could possibly make their comeback tonight

Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

It won't be the first meeting of the season when the Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks take the Spectrum Center court at circa 7 pm tonight. They already faced each other once on November 23rd, and the Hawks were able to squeak out a 113-110 win back then, overcoming a 28 point-effort from Kon Knueppel.

But it's hard to say how much that first matchup really told us. The Hornets were without Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball, Ryan Kalkbrenner, and Josh Green back then, while the Hawks had two compensate for the absences of Trae Young and Luke Kennard.

Tonight, we will hopefully see a more level playing field:

INJURY REPORT

Hornets: OUT - Grant Williams (R Knee), Pat Connaughton (R Calf), Tre Mann (R Knee), Colin Sexton (L Quad), Liam McNeeley (G-League) PROBABLE - LaMelo Ball (L Ankle)

Hawks: OUT - N'Faly Dante (G-League), Nikola Djurisic (G-League), Kristaps Porzingis (Illness) QUESTIONABLE - Trae Young (R Knee)

Yes, Charles Lee will once again be without Collin Sexton and Tre Mann at the guard spots, but a LaMelo Ball return would alleviate a lot of those concerns. That is, if Ball can finally find some rhythm on the offensive end.

Because so far this year, he's seen his numbers decline. The threes are falling at just a 28.5% clip for the 24-year-old, and he's averaging the lowest points per game since his rookie season. It hasn't helped that he hasn't been available regularly, never playing more than six games in a row.

On the bright side, it's been a similar story for Trae Young. Following an abysmal shooting start to the season, where the Hawks' superstar hit just 19.2% from deep over a five-game stretch, he suffered an MCL sprain in the right knee and has been out ever since.

Should either of the flamboyant point guards return tonight, look out for them to try to get going early and shake off their season-long rust.

Key Factors- Stop the Break and beat the bench

Atlanta has done a surprisingly great job at sharing the scoring load and keeping the ball moving, even without the presence and production of Trae Young. Former Jazz head coach Quin Snyder has created an offense that ranks first in assists per game, fourth in fastbreak points per game, and first in pass-to-assist ratio this season.

The Hawks don't just rack up passes without creating an advantage; they are finding good shots at a league-best rate. A lot of that can be traced back to Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who are each having an incredible year considering the amount of usage they have had to shoulder.

Stepping up for Trae Young: Jalen Johnson (left | 22.8 ppg), and Nickeil Alexander Walker (right | 20.4ppg) have proven to be lifesavers for the Hawks. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Johnson has turned himself into a do-it-all fastbreak machine that can just as well waltz to the rim, as it can score from the midrange, and from deep, or zing out a cross-court pass to a wide-open shooter. He'll enter tonight's game on a four-game triple-double streak.

Alexander-Walker, a free-agent acquisition who was previously one of the league's best sixth men for Minnesota, began the season as such before entering the starting lineup once Trae Young went down. He has been a reliable scoring presence ever since.

So how can the Hornets counteract this offense? Most importantly: No live-ball turnovers! The Hawks and Jalen Johnson, in particular, feast on those. In their win against Charlotte earlier this season, they scored 23 points off turnovers to the Hornets 8.

Also, it might be worth it to give Moussa Diabate more minutes than usual to have a big that will be able to get back quickly on defense after missed shots.

Projected Starting Lineups

Players	Hornets	Hawks
Point Guard	LaMelo Ball	Trae Young
Shooting Guard	Kon Knueppel	Dyson Daniels
Small Forward	Brandon Miller	Zaccharie Risacher
Power Forward	Miles Bridges	Jalen Johnson
Center	Ryan Kalkbrenner	Onyeka Okongwu

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