Both the Atlanta Hawks and the Charlotte Hornets both got wins on Wednesday and are 1-0 heading into their Friday night showdown. Charlotte is going to be down a couple of key players tonight, but this team still has talent, and they are playing at home.
The two teams faced very different opponents on Wednesday. The Hawks scored their 5th straight win over the Orlando Magic, a team that is expected to be in contention for a playoff spot, while the Hornets defeated the Brooklyn Nets, widely expected to be the worst team in the Eastern Conference
When looking at tonight's game, here are three critical storylines to follow.
1. Can the Hawks start faster?
The Hawks got the win on Wednesday vs the Magic, but they left the game with plenty to work on. One of the key takeaways for me was that the Hawks started the game and the second half very sloppy on defense. While Charlotte is going to be missing Coby White and Kon Knueppel, they run a system that puts players in positions to score points in bunches and shoot a lot of threes.
One thing was clear after the game, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder talked about his team's defense, specifically pointing out the first quarter defense:
"I was disappointed with how we started both halves. We didn't share the ball. We didn't run. We just weren't efficient. I shouldn't say we didn't share the ball, but we didn't pass the ball ahead. We didn't make the extra pass. We just weren't as locked in. And we worked our way out of it, which was good to see. But I didn't think we played to what I want our identity to be."
Again, Charlotte and Orlando take different approaches to offense, but I am looking for more consistency from the Hawks and to start the game better.
2. Who wins the three-point battle?
Both of these teams love to shoot the three-pointer and while the Hawks would love to get up more than the 36 attempts they did against Orlando, that is still a solid number.
One phrase that you will hear a lot against certain NBA teams is three point variance. The Boston Celtics are likely going to lead the league in three pointers taken, but Charlotte is not going to be far behind. When you take that many threes, it can obviously swing games. The Hawks need to either win this battle or force the Hornets into a poor shooting night with their collection of perimeter defensive talent.
3. How do the Hawks matchup against the big man duo of Naz Reid and Moussa Diabate?
While this is not the best big man duo in the league, they are pretty formidable and compliment each other pretty well.
Naz Reid is a better offensive player and a more dangerous three-point threat, while Diabate is a strong defender and rebounder, who also had five steals in the win over the Nets. Atlanta is not one of the bigger teams in the league and I think they could have trouble with both Reid and Diabate tonight.
Winning the possession battle against Charlotte is going to be key because it decreases their three-point attempts and gives them few opportunities. Can Onyeka Okongwu, Jalen Johnson, Jock Landale, and Lu Dort keep Charlotte off the boards?
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