The Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks have some of the most exciting young offensive talent in the NBA. On Wednesday night, they will meet in Atlanta in the first round of the NBA Play-In Tournament. One team will move into the final play-in round, while the other will be sent home. In our NBA predictions for Wednesday night, we look at Hornets vs Hawks in what should be an electrifying play-in matchup.
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Hornets vs Hawks Betting Pick
This game will be played at State Farm Arena at 7:00 PM ET on Wednesday, April 13, 2022.
Why Bet The Hawks:
✅ The Hornets have a slightly better defensive rating than the Hawks, but the Hawks have the superior offensive rating. Additionally, the Hornets defense was tied for the worst in the Eastern Conference in points per game allowed this season. The Hawks should be able to use their offensive firepower to come away with a victory in this contest and cover the spread.
✅ Atlanta is one of the best teams in the NBA at protecting their home court. The Hawks went 27-14 at home during the 2021-2022 season, with their performance at home being the only reason they are a top-10 team in the East this year. They will continue to protect their home floor in this matchup.
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✅ Atlanta has a nice edge in this game through Clint Capela on the interior. He has a huge athleticism advantage against Mason Plumlee and should be able to outscore Plumlee on the interior while helping the Hawks to win the rebounding battle. That advantage will be the most pronounced for the Hawks, who will use it and the presence of Trae Young to lead themselves to a win and cover.
Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets come into the Play-In Tournament having won three straight games, though that was not enough to put them higher than 10th place in the Eastern Conference. As a result, the Hornets will need to win two straight road games just to claim the eighth seed in the East. In order to get that process started, they will need to beat one of the best home teams in the NBA in the Atlanta Hawks.
Scoring points has not been a concern for the Hornets this season, as they average 115.3 points per game, which ranks second in the Eastern Conference. Instead, it will be the defense of the Hornets that determines whether or not they advance to the final round of the Play-In Tournament in the East. Charlotte will need to stay attached to Trae Young, and not let Young pick the Hornets apart through the pick and roll with Clint Capela.
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks won seven of their final 10 games of the regular season, finishing in ninth place and earning a home game in the first round of the Play-In Tournament. That home game is significant for the Hawks, who won nearly two-thirds of their home games this season. And while the Hawks will need to win a road game if they manage to get by the Hornets at home, this game should put them in a position to compete in a second play-in game.
For the Hawks to take advantage of this opportunity at home, they will need to prevent LaMelo Ball from heating up early in this game. Ball is a player whose early rhythm can often determine what kind of night he has, as we saw in the Hornets’ blowout win in Chicago against the Bulls in the final week of the regular season. It will be interesting to see how the Hawks choose to guard Ball throughout this game, as he has a height advantage over Trae Young and a quickness advantage over the rest of the Hawks’ guards.