PREVIEW: The Atlanta Hawks (15-12) travel to Charlotte to face the Hornets (8-18) on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET at Spectrum Center in a Southeast Division matchup. Atlanta comes in fresh off a home victory against Philadelphia, winning 120-117 , while Charlotte recently knocked off Cleveland in overtime, with Kon Knueppel leading the way with 29 points. The Hawks boast elite spacing and passing on offense, ranking first in both categories, while forcing turnovers at the fourth-best rate in the league. The Hornets counter with efficient free-throw shooting at 82.2% and solid spacing of their own, though they struggle defensively, allowing high-quality three-pointers and generating few turnovers. Atlanta has won five straight matchups over Charlotte and claimed six of the past ten head-to-head contests. Jalen Johnson has emerged as a scoring machine for the Hawks, averaging 22.8 points with 10.5 rebounds and 8.2 assists while shooting over 50 percent from the field. The Hornets, however, have lost 25 of their last 33 games, suggesting their recent momentum could be difficult to sustain. With Atlanta's strong defensive fundamentals against rim attacks and Charlotte's propensity to allow high-volume three-point attempts, this matchup shapes up as a battle between Atlanta's structured offense and the Hornets' offensive firepower.