NBA Matchups: February 14

A monster slate! I wanted to finish this article up on Tuesday night, so it’s going to be a short version. I’ll be on the projections and content all day, so I’ll have plenty more takes on the shows. I also don’t have all of the presser notes from last night, so I’ll have those on the show later, too.

Atlanta Hawks at Charlotte Hornets

Team Totals: Hawks 122, Hornets 115.5

Injury Report: Clint Capela (O, groin), Onyeka Okongwu (O, toe), Cody Martin (P, knee)

Hawks projected starters: Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, Bruno Fernando (Note: Could see De’Andre Hunter start over Bruno)

Hornets projected starters: Tre Mann, Cody Martin, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, Nick Richards

Snyder quotes: Said De’Andre Hunter did a great job on DeMar and he’s being aggressive with his threes, said Jalen Johnson didn’t close because he hurt his toe.

Clifford quotes: Said they didn’t play out of their base defense against Haliburton, said Seth Curry is a great competitor, said they have to take care of the ball better, said they were not organized with their doubles on Haliburton, said the closers will be “game to game”.

Stats and Notes: 

*The Hawks continue to pile up the points, ranking first in O rating and third in the halfcourt in the last 10 games. Their D is on the other end of the spectrum at 28th overall and 29th in the halfcourt, and the Hawks are still in the top five for seconds per offensive possession. They just find themselves in the best game environments every night with bad transition D, bad rim D, and they leave shooters open. Of course, the Hawks are now down both of their centers, and they’ll have to go small a ton. For the Hornets, we’ve seen two really good defensive games out of them. In fact, it’s the first time since October they’ve had two 70th+ percentile defensive ratings in consecutive games. There’s a chance that it’s just a small sample and one of those games was against the Grizzlies, but they did keep the top-ranked Indy O down. Looking at those two games, their two biggest areas of improvement were transition D, PNR handler D, and limiting some easier stuff like cuts and unguarded C&S. I don’t really buy it yet, and I’d expect the Hawks to come out with a big number.

*I wouldn’t be too surprised to see the Hawks start De’Andre Hunter and Jalen Johnson as a 5 in a small-ball lineup. Hunter has been terrific, and I doubt they’d want to play Bruno Fernando a ton anyway.

Great matchups: Dejounte Murray, Jalen Johnson, Brandon Miller

Good matchups: Trae Young, Tre Mann, Miles Bridges

Bad matchups: Nobody

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New York Knicks at Orlando Magic (back end)

Team Totals: Knicks 106, Magic 108.5

Injury Report: Donte DiVincenzo (Q, hamstring), Isaiah Hartenstein (Q, Achilles)

Knicks projected starters: Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart, Precious Achiuwa, Isaiah Hartenstein (Note: Could see Bojan starting for Donte or even Hartenstein; maybe it’s Jericho Sims at center, too)

Magic projected starters: Markelle Fultz, Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero, Wendell Carter Jr.

Thibs quotes: Mostly just talked about the Brunson foul call, didn’t have an update on Donte DiVincenzo.

Mosley quotes: Said he’s excited for Shaq night, said some of their rotation spots will be by committee.

Stats and Notes: 

*The Knicks are pretty banged up and it sounds like both Donte DiVincenzo and Isaiah Hartenstein could miss this one. Their interior defense has taken a hit when they don’t have their top centers, and the Magic attack the paint at will with the second-highest rim points per game. The Orlando matchup will be a little tied to the centers, but this game is early to give us that information. The Magic continue their ways of not helping to limit C&S stuff, so this is another on-ball spot. The Magic have also been strong in limiting O boards, so it’s not a great spot for the Precious Achiuwa types.

Great matchups: Paolo Banchero

Good matchups: Jalen Brunson, Franz Wagner (if no Hartenstein), Wendell Carter Jr. (if no Hartenstein)

Bad matchups: Precious Achiuwa

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Miami Heat (back end) at Philadelphia 76ers