It’s the last game before the All-Star break, as the 24-30 Atlanta Hawks travel to Charlotte to take on the 12-41 Hornets on Wednesday night. The Hawks come into the game fresh off a loss to the Bulls, and they currently sit in the final play-in spot, 10th in the East. Meanwhile, the Hornets sit at 13th in the conference, but have won back to back games and are seeking their first three game winning streak of the season.
The Hawks were rumored to be major players at the NBA trade deadline, but ultimately stood pat, keeping Dejounte Murray in Atlanta. The team also just recently got DeAndre Hunter back from injury, and they’re as healthy as they’ve been in a while.
The Hornets on the other hand, made major changes at the deadline and in the past two games, more than half the rotation was made up of guys who have been in town less than a week. This begs the question for the banged-up home side, are reinforcements on the way?
Hornets injury report
Unfortunately for the Hornets it’s the same story as LaMelo Ball (ankle) and Mark Williams remain ‘Out’. Cody Martin is listed as ‘Questionable’ (knee), but was able to play through the same designation Monday night.
Fans are dying to see LaMelo back on the court with this team, and Steve Clifford has said he’s dying to get back out there. But at this point, it makes no sense to bring him back for one game with a lengthy layoff coming for the All-Star break. This will basically give Ball an extra week and a half, and we can hope to see him back on the court when the team returns on Thursday, February 22nd in Utah.
Steve Clifford on LaMelo Ball's recovery:
— /r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) February 12, 2024
"He did more today in the shootaround, he wants to play badly. Just gotta make sure that he's comfortable, that he's not gonna get reinjured.
🤕 #LetsFly35 pic.twitter.com/7RESwmResQ
Hawks injury report
The Hawks are listing Clint Capela (thigh), AJ Griffin (illness), Mouhamed Gueye (back), and Wesley Matthews (illness) as ‘Out’ for Wednesday night. Of the group only Capela has been a major rotation piece for the Hawks this season.
Trae Young and Dejounte Murray will lead the Hawks into Charlotte, where they enter as 6.5-point favorites on the road against Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, and the new-look Hornets.