PREVIEW: The Atlanta Hawks return home to host the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday in the first of four regular-season Southeast Division matchups. The Hawks have been playing well recently, winning six of their last eight games and defeating the struggling Pelicans in a road victory. Atlanta has done an excellent job handling inferior competition this season, building a deep roster through their offseason acquisitions that allows them to occasionally out-talent weaker opponents. This marks the second straight matchup for Atlanta against a fairly weak defense, positioning the Hawks to maintain control for most of the game. Charlotte finds itself in a difficult stretch, dropping five consecutive games and managing just one win in their last nine matchups, which has left them in 12th place in the Eastern Conference. The Hornets arrive with extra motivation after receiving a 55-point beatdown courtesy of James Harden, and despite being a young, scrappy team, they represent a squad the Hawks cannot afford to overlook. Charlotte has stumbled to six straight defeats on the road, posting poor defensive numbers while averaging just 113.70 points per contest in their last 10 away games. One of Atlanta's biggest strengths remains their depth, with trusted contributors like Vit Krejci stepping up significantly, having made over 60 percent of his three-pointers in recent games.