Hornets, with slim playoff hopes, visit Hawks (Mar 15, 2018)
Former Hawk and Atlanta native Dwight Howard returns to his hometown for the final time this season with a Charlotte team that's running out of time to make a dash for the playoffs.
The Hornets (29-39) visit Atlanta (20-48) in the second contest of a five-game road trip that will determine whether they have a legitimate chance of making up the ground needed to return to postseason.
Charlotte is in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, a distant seven games behind No. 8 Miami, with only 14 games remaining. The Hornets dropped a 119-115 decision at New Orleans on Tuesday and have lost six of their last seven games.
Atlanta has been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. The Hawks have recently suffered through a rash of injuries and have lost four straight, including a 119-107 game to Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
Howard played last season in Atlanta, but was ill-suited for the offensive philosophy taught by coach Mike Budenholzer. The mismatch reached its peak in the playoffs, when Howard didn't get off the bench in the fourth quarter of several playoff games. Despite averaging 13.5 points and 12.7 rebounds, Howard was traded to Charlotte in the offseason.
Howard has responded well to his new environment. Through 68 games, Howard is averaging 16.2 points, 12.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots for the Hornets.
Howard was one of four Charlotte players to score 20 points in the loss to New Orleans. He had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Kemba Walker scored 22, Frank Kaminsky scored 21 and Nicolas Batum scored 20.
While the offense is needed, Howard said the key is defense, "We paid more attention to the defensive end and if we do that a little more, we'll get some wins."
Walker agreed.
"We were just out there playing hard," he said. "The second half (against New Orleans) we did a better job with our intensity."
They could target Atlanta, a club that's loaded with rookies and unproven players. At one point Tuesday the Hawks fielded a team that included first-year players Damion Lee, Tyler Dorsey and first-round pick John Collins, along with Isaiah Taylor.
Atlanta signed Lee, a rookie from Louisville, to a 10-day contract Tuesday morning and he scored 13 points in 17 minutes in his debut with the team.
Dennis Schroder, Atlanta's four-year veteran point guard, has been trying to help the new guys assimilate into the league. Sometimes it isn't easy when the faces change so often.
"Every day what Jeff (Teague, former Hawks point guard) taught me, I try to give it back to my backups," Schroder said. "All of us try to help each other."
Atlanta forward Taurean Prince has started to emerge as a scoring force on the team, which has serious offensive limitations. Prince, a second-year pro from Baylor, scored 25 on Tuesday after putting up a career-high 38 in the previous game.
Charlotte has handily won the first three games between the regional rivals this season, most recently a 123-110 victory in Atlanta on Jan. 31 when Walker scored 38. The Hornets were 3-1 against Atlanta last season and have won six of the last seven meetings.
