Atlanta Hawks: 3 keys to victory vs the Charlotte Hornets

After two straight losses, the Atlanta Hawks need a win against the Charlotte Hornets to get back on track.

After such a tremendous offseason, the Atlanta Hawks should be at the top of the Eastern conference right now. With the exception of the Brooklyn Nets games, they have had a reasonably soft schedule. The problem is they have let games slide they should have won.

The Hawks are on a two-game losing streak, the teams they have lost to are the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks. Both of these teams were well outside the playoffs last season and despite surprising starts, should not be playoff teams this season either.

It is these games that the Hawks need to win to make sure they are towards the top of the standings, where they deserve to be. The last thing the Hawks want to do is not be in control of their own destiny. The best way to ensure they are in the playoffs is to be one of the best teams, playing at the highest level. The play-in tournament just poses too many risks.

The Atlanta Hawks need to involve more guys.

The Hawks, and for good reason, have tied their cart to Trae Young. He is one of the most gifted scorers and playmakers in the NBA and will lead them well into the future. The good problem for the Hawks is they not have so many other options that Young can use to help the team win.

Young has a knock-down shooter in Bogdanovic, two tremendous finishers at the rim in Clint Capela and John Collins as well as players who are developing into solid pieces in Cam Reddish, De’Andre Hunter, and Kevin Huerter. This is not even taking into account the injured players they bought in over the summer. With all this in mind, let’s get to our three keys to the game.

Atlanta Hawks key No. 1) Trae needs to cut the turnovers.

When you are the star of the team the buck stops with you. This is doubly so when you are also the team’s point guard. Young has been incredible to start the season but there is one area he must work on, turnovers.

When the team wins, Young averages only 3.0 turnovers a game. With the offensive firepower that this team now has, it is going to be very hard to beat them in a straight shootout. If you don’t turn the ball over much, the team should get a win.

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This is shown by the fact that Young averages 6.3 turnovers in the three losses the Hawks have suffered this season.  This number is way too high and stops any momentum for the Hawks on offense. For a team who is looking to outscore their opponent rather than relying on defense as much, that is a problem.

All three losses have been by five points or less.  In the four-point loss to the Nets, Young had five turnovers. In the five-point loss to the Cavaliers, Young had six turnovers. In the last loss to the Knicks, Young had eight turnovers. Keep control of the ball and there is a better chance of winning.

Atlanta Hawks key No. 2) Keep the Hornets off the offensive glass.

One of the biggest weaknesses for the Atlanta Hawks their inability at times to keep their opponents off the offensive glass. They are giving up 11.3 offensive rebounds per game which is 27th in the league.

The Hornets are collecting 11.1 per game which is the eighth-best in the league, while only giving up 9.9 per game. The Hawks are collecting 11.6 per game, which is sixth in the league so it is a solid contributor to their offense.

The Hornets have three really good offensive rebounders who need to be stopped. Bismack Biyombo averages 3.3 per game and gets 1.3 second-chance points per game. He also is able to average 2.9 assists per game as he kicks the ball out to an open player.

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P.J. Washington averages 2.0 per game and LeMelo Ball averages 1.6 per game. Between these three players, the Hornets are able to get six more shots attempts up per game. That is the potential for a further 18 points per game which can be stopped by simply boxing out.

It is going to take a collective effort on the boards for the Hawks as all these players play different positions. The Hornets use multiple players to crash the offensive glass, so multiple players need to find a body and just stop them from getting into a position to get the offensive rebound.

Atlanta Hawks key No. 3) Key Matchup: De’Andre Hunter vs Gordon Hayward.

If Hunter is able to beat Gordon Hayward then the Hawks should win. Young is always going to get his numbers, and so is Terry Rozier of the Hornets so that is a given. The job done on Hayward is the variable of the night.

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Hunter has been incredible all season. He has been scoring in a multitude of ways so it is impossible for his defender to get a handle on what he is going to do next. As a result, he is the team’s third-leading scorer. He has also played so good defense throughout the first seven games.

While he may not be a superstar, Hayward is the Hornets’ best player at the moment. He would want to be at $30 million a year, plus the $9 million stretch of Nicolas Batum over the next three years.

Hayward is second on the team in scoring with18.7 per game. He is third on the team in assists with 4.7 per game as well as being fourth in rebounds with 5.6 per game. On the defensive end, he is second in steals of any Hornet who has played more than one game with 1.6.

Without Hayward, the Hornets are not anywhere near as good as they are with him firing. A solid defensive performance on Hayward should go a long way to the win. The Hawks certainly need it to stop the two-game losing streak. While they still have a heap of guys out, they should still get the job done. For full injury list click here.