The 1-0 Atlanta Hawks are back in business tonight - with a familiar opponent on the schedule. However, the Charlotte Hornets aren't the same team that Atlanta had to hold off during the second half of the 2025-26 regular season.
The Magic gave them a decent fight in the third quarter, but outside of a shaky 3rd quarter fueled by questionable foul calls in Orlando's favor, Atlanta got the stops they needed, and they torched a good perimeter defense from deep by shooting 38.3% as a team. Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the way with 31 points, but it was a complete team effort. Kingston Flemings was the only Hawk who was in the rotation and hit fewer than two three-pointers.
While Orlando maintained continuity, the Hornets did the opposite. Swapping out LaMelo Ball for Naz Reid is both a bet on future flexibility and Charlotte discovering a new identity under rookie sharpshooter Kon Knueppel and recently-extended forward Brandon Miller. In their season opener, they rode the combination of Miller, Reid and Dennis Schroder, Knueppel's temporary injury-related substitute, to a win. That trio combined for 57 points, but the real star of the show was Reid. The former fan favorite in Minnesota put up 20 poinsts, 11 rebounds and seven assists in his first game as a Hornet.
Game Preview
The Naz Reid Matchup
Reid's played a sixth man/occasional starter role throughout his time in Minnesota, but he's getting a big opportunity to exert himself as the leader on a young Charlotte frontcourt. Moussa Diabate and Reid ended up starting in a double-bigs look last night, but that combination was a -22.9 net rating in 23 minutes and was especially terrible on offense.
If they go to that look again, I believe the Hawks are well equipped to handle it. They've got the rebounding with Johnson and Okongwu to negate Charlotte's biggest advantage. Furthermore, Reid got seven assists against one turnover because the Nets' perimeter defense isn't very strong. I'd expect Lu Dort or even Dyson Daniels to get a few more deflections when matched up with Reid since they can counter his strength and cut off his passing lanes.
Focus on Flemings
Kingston Flemings was about as good as a player can be without making a single shot. He had several impressive defensive reps and held his ground by not overplaying his assignment, passing within the flow of the offense and even getting a block while being a smaller guard. For a rookie guard, his instincts on both ends of the floor are far higher than the average first-year player and he's going to have a ton of opportunities to work on his shot in the regular season.
Nevertheless, Charlotte doesn't have as strong of a perimeter defense as Orlando theoretically does. Brooklyn shot 38.1% from deep despite having significantly fewer shooters than Atlanta does and I'd expect for the Hawks to find ways to get good looks on the perimeter. Flemings is a significant part of that due to his ability to find opportunities for others and dish to shooters on the perimeter after driving to the rim.
Solving the Sharpshooters
Charlotte doesn't have the absurd volume of threes that LaMelo Ball generates anymore, but they've tried to offset that loss by bringing in Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale from Phoenix in the trade that sent out Miles Bridges. Both of those players are proven shooters who can get red-hot from deep and Allen certainly had that on full display.
Coming off the bench, he had 21 points on just nine shots and went 5-8 from deep. The Hawks are going to have to counter that with another good game from the bench. Aaron Wiggins gave Atlanta 16 critical points off the bench - can he repeat it again if Charlotte forces them into a shootout? I think it'll be interesting to see if Dort can build on his 2-5 showing from deep since he had a career-low 3P% and this defense isn't very imposing. It could give Atlanta the edge they need in this one.
How to Watch
Today's game will be at 7 pm EST at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC and can be seen on Atlanta News First, Peachtree Sports Network, and Prime Video.
Injury Report
Mo Gueye (left foot) and Henri Veesaar (right ACL) are both out for tonight. Grant Williams, Kon Knueppel and Coby White are out for Charlotte.
Projected Starters
Hawks
G - CJ McCollum
G - Nickeil Alexander-Walker
G/F - Dyson Daniels
F - Jalen Johnson
C - Onyeka Okongwu
Hornets
G - Dennis Schroder
G - Brandon Miller
G/F - Sion James
F - Naz Reid
C - Moussa Diabate
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