Atlanta Hawks: 3 keys to the revenge game against the Charlotte Hornets

Atlanta Hawks key matchup No. 3)  The wings vs Gordon Hayward.

More from Soaring Down South

• Start, Bench, Cut: Sorting through the Hawks’ power forward options
• Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic reacts to earning FIBA World Cup championship bid
• When does training camp start for the Atlanta Hawks?
• Grade the trade: Hawks deal Trae Young to Clippers in shocking proposal
• Dejounte Murray rips NBA 2K after Atlanta Hawks ratings reveal

Despite being on the second night of a back-to-back, Hayward is still going to be a handful. He is the star of this team and is comfortable in that role. It is easy to forget that he was the offensive star for the Utah Jazz for so many years before that horrific injury in his first game for the Boston Celtics.

He went for a career-high 44 points against the Hawks last game out and it is going to take a team effort to slow him down. The first player who will get a crack at Hayward will be Hunter who has been so solid on defense all season.

If Hunter struggles to contain Hayward, Hill is going to be the next man up. However, it is not the individual matchup that is going to slow Hayward down, the team needs to get the ball out of his hands and make the others on the court take shots they may not be comfortable with.

The other way the Hawks need to work on Hayward is to make him work hard on the defensive end. If he is able to rest on the defensive end inside the zone then he can hurt you more offensively.