Game: Charlotte Hornets @ Atlanta Hawks
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Odds: Hornets +5.5, Hawks -5.5
Total: 235.5
It’s a battle of two of the highest-scoring offenses in the NBA in Atlanta tonight. The Hornets, who rank fourth in the NBA in scoring, take on the Hawks who rank sixth. Charlotte is scoring 115.3 points per game while Atlanta averages 113.9. One of the big reasons for all the points by both teams is their ability to shoot three-pointers.
Charlotte ranks No. 6 in three-point field goal percentage. Hornets’ shooters hit 36.5 percent of all their three-point attempts. Atlanta is even better. The Hawks rank second in the NBA in three-point field goal percentage shooting 37.4 percent from behind the arc.
Atlanta earned home-court advantage by finishing ninth in the East. They did so by winning seven of their last nine games of the season. The Hawks have performed very well at home lately too. Atlanta won 11 of its last 12 home games and they have actually played dramatically better at State Farm Arena than on the road. Atlanta is 27-14 SU and 23-18 ATS at home. The already prolific offense scores even more – 116.7 points per game – at home. The Hawks shoot 38 percent from three-point ranger at home too.
Charlotte had a strong run to close the season. The Hornets went 11-4 SU and 10-5 ATS in their final 15 games of the regular season. They have also had success against Atlanta winning 13 of the last 20 head-to-head matchups. What Charlotte and Atlanta both do not do is play defense.
Atlanta ranks No. 21 in scoring defense giving up 112.4 points per game. Charlotte is even worse ranking No. 25 and allowing 114.9 points per game. Ironically, both teams rank in the bottom 10 in three-point field goal percentage defense. That may open the door for elite scorers like Atlanta’s Trae Young and Charlotte’s Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball.
Young finished among the league leaders in scoring averaging 28.4 points per game. He also averaged 9.7 assists per game. Bridges led the Hornets in scoring 20.2 points a game with Ball right behind at 20.1. Seven Hornets average in double figures. One of those, Gordon Hayward, is out of the lineup tonight Hayward averages 15.9 points a game. John Collins, is the Hawks’ second-leading scorer at 16.2 points per game.
Over each team’s last nine games of the regular season, Atlanta went 7-2 ATS and the Hornets went 6-3 ATS. The teams split four games against each other this season. Both also went 2-2 ATS. With all of the offense on the floor, it’s not a surprise that four of the last six Hornets games went Over. Six of the last seven Charlotte road games have also gone Over and six of the last eight against Atlanta on the road have gone Over as well.
Atlanta held Charlotte to 91 and 105 points in its two victories over the Hornets this season. The last ten games in the series have averaged a total of 228.2 points.