Charlotte Hornets Look to Continue Push for Playoffs Against the Atlanta Hawks
The Charlotte Hornets’ playoff hopes are decreasing but a victory over the Atlanta Hawks could help their pursuit of the postseason.
The Charlotte Hornets (30-39) are set to take on the Atlanta Hawks (37-32) in a divisional matchup between two playoff hopeful teams. Even though the Hornets are on the outside looking in of the playoff picture, they haven’t yet given up hope. They’ll need an incredible run but Charlotte needs to start somewhere and a victory over Atlanta could be huge for one final postseason push.
In their last outing, the Hawks fell to the Portland Trail Blazers. That loss was their third consecutive and even though they are pretty secure in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, Atlanta is only 4-6 in their last 10 games. Their form isn’t great and that could work in Charlotte’s favor.
This is the third meeting between the division rivals this season after the Hornets came out on top in the two previous matchups. Steve Clifford’s side only won by a combined total of 12 points but they still did enough to win both at home and on the road. With those two games both being close affairs, expect this one to be no different.
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Charlotte Hornets vs Atlanta Hawks
7:00 p.m. EST, Monday, March 20th, 2017
Spectrum Center
Broadcast on FOX Sports Southeast
Injury Report:
CHA:
Ramon Sessions (knee surgery) – OUT
Miles Plumlee (calf strain) – OUT
Johnny O’Bryant (sprained ankle) – OUT
ATL:
Kent Bazemore (right knee bone bruise) – OUT
Mike Dunleavy (right ankle synovitis) – OUT
Paul Millsap (left knee tightness) – OUT
Biggest Story:
Free Throw Line
The Hornets are statistically the best team in the league at not fouling their opponents as they only commit 17 fouls per game. (NBA.com) By limiting their fouls, they keep the opposition off of the free throw line which prevents them from getting easy points. This is important in this game because the Hawks are great at drawing fouls.
Atlanta is third in the NBA in fouls drawn with 21.7 per game this season. (NBA.com) Despite drawing a lot of fouls, the Hawks are a poor free throw shooting team at only 72.4% which is 28th in the league. Still, whoever wins the battle of the fouls and free throw line should have the advantage in this one.
Matchup to Watch:
Hornets vs Active Hawks
Two of Atlanta’s best players in Paul Millsap and Kent Bazemore are set to miss this game. That is big for the Hornets as it will definitely help them as both of those guys have been great against Charlotte this season. In the two games between these two teams, Millsap and Bazemore were the Hawks two leading scorers.
Without them, other players will be forced to step up. On the other hand, the Hornets’ starting lineup is finally fully healthy for the first time in some time as one of more players have dealt with injuries for a majority of the season. With the starting five of Kemba Walker, Nicolas Batum, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marvin Williams and Cody Zeller, Charlotte has a 21-15 record.