Hawks vs Hornets: Spread and Score Predictions
The Hawks are back in town tonight after a lengthy road trip and they will be welcoming in the Charlotte Hornets to State Farm Arena tonight. Atlanta has lost both matchups vs the Hornets this season and are one of the most banged up teams in the NBA, but they are big favorites at home tonight vs a Hornets team that is as beat up as the Hawks are.
Because they are so shorthanded, the Hawks have had to rely on Dejounte Murray to be the main source of offense with Young out and he has responded with big outputs in scoring. Murray is having to play 40+ minutes and shoot around 25 times to give this Hawks offense a chance and that is likely going to be the case tonight. The Atlanta offense will revolve around Murray and they need him to be efficient tonight.
Bogdan Bogdanovic has the potential for big games due to his shooting ability, but it has been some time since he had a large scoring output. His three-point shooting and offensive creation will be needed if Murray can’t get it going.
De’Andre Hunter started the last game and was able to play 33 minutes. Hunter had been coming off the bench for the Hawks and doing a great job of scoring and being efficient, as well as defending. Hunter is in the midst of what might be his best and most consistent stretch of basketball as a Hawk.
Vit Krejci has been a starter for the Hawks since Bey went down with a season-ending injury and he is not going to stuff the stat sheet, but he can knock down threes, drive and kick out to an open shooter, and is not a negative on defense.
With Okongwu doubtful, the center minutes will fall on Clint Capela and Bruno Fernando. Capela has six double-doubles in the last eight games and could have a big night on the board against the Hornets.
The bench will likely consist of Fernando, Trent Forrest, Garrison Matthews, and Wesley Matthews.
Coming into tonight’s game, the Hawks rank 5th in PPG, 21st in field goal percentage, 7th in three-point attempts, 18th in three-point percentage, 5th in free throw attempts, 1st in offensive rebounding, and 13th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Atlanta ranks 9th in points per 100 possessions, 19th in effective field goal percentage, 9th in turnover percentage, 5th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 9th in free throw rate.
Offensively, the Hornet's offense relies on rookie Brandon Miller and forward Miles Bridges. They are still without LaMelo Ball and Mark Williams, two key parts of their team. When fully healthy, Charlotte can be a problem on offense, but they have not been healthy this year. The Hornets rank 29th in PPG, 27th in field goal percentage, 18th in three-point attempts, 26th in three-point percentage, 20th in free throw attempts, 24th in offensive rebounding, and 18th in turnovers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Charlotte is 29th in points per 100 possessions, 28th in effective field goal percentage, 21st in turnover percentage, 26th in offensive rebounding percentage, and 30th in free throw rate.
Viewing and Betting information
Tip-off time: 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
Where to Watch: NBA League Pass, Bally Sports Southeast,
Spread and Over/Under: The Hawks will be favorites at home tonight, as they are currently 8.5 point favorites according to the latest odds from the SI Sportsbook and the over/under is set at 213.5.
This is a tough game to predict. The Hawks have not been playing well and are missing several key players, but so are the Hornets. I think the home-court advantage will help Atlanta as well and get a win over a team they have surprisingly struggled with over the years. Charlotte will cover because of a big game from Brandon Miller.
Final Score: Hawks 114, Hornets 109
