Atlanta Hawks vs Charlotte Hornets Prediction, 10/23/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Atlanta Hawks vs Charlotte Hornets

Date: Friday, October 23, 2026

Location: Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC

TV: WSOC

Odds/Point Spread: Atlanta (-2.5)

The Charlotte Hornets (44-38 last season) will go up against the Atlanta Hawks (46-36 last year) at Spectrum Center on Friday. Charlotte opens as 2.5-point dogs. The over/under has been set at 225.5.

The Hawks played the Magic and went home with a win by a final score of 132-125 in their last game. When discussing personal fouls, the Hawks ended up finishing with 30 while the Magic had 28 personal fouls. They knocked down 13 out of their 40 shots from long range. Orlando finished the contest at 76.9% when shooting free throws by knocking down 30 of 39 shots. Moreover, Orlando pulled down 39 rebounds (9 offensive, 30 defensive) and got 3 rejections. Orlando doled out 30 dimes and had 10 steals in the matchup. In the matter of defense, Atlanta allowed the other team to shoot 48.2% from the floor on 41 of 85 shooting. They also distributed 28 assists for the game in addition to forcing 20 turnovers and having 9 steals. Concerning rebounding, they compiled 42 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Hawks converted 30 of 36 tries for a rate of 83.3%. Atlanta finished with a 48.9% FG percentage (44 of 90) and converted 14 of their 36 shots from downtown.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker is one guy who was a major contributor for this contest. He accounted for 31 points on 8 out of 15 shooting. He played 30 minutes played and collected 4 rebounds. Alexander ended up shooting 53.3% from the floor and distributed 3 assists.

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Atlanta comes into this game after finishing with a record of 46-36 last season. They had an average of 118.5 pts per contest (6th in basketball) on 47.4% from the floor. The Hawks shot 37.1% from downtown (1,201 of 3,237) and 77.4% from the charity stripe. As a team, Atlanta pulled down 43.5 boards per game and accounted for 2,471 dimes last season, which had them ranked 1st in the league in terms of passing the rock. They lost possession via turnover 14.2 times per contest and as a unit committed 19.7 personal fouls per contest.

On the defensive end of the court, the Hawks forced their opponents into 16.1 turnovers per contest and they drew 18.5 fouls. They gave up 35.5% on three-point shots and they were 18th in the NBA in points per game from their opponents (116.0). The Hawks defensively gave up an opponent shooting percentage of 47.4% (3,473 of 7,334) and they relinquished 45.2 boards per contest as a unit. They were 15th in basketball in giving up assists with 2,185 conceded throughout last year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Hornets went home victorious with a score of 110-103 against the Nets. The Hornets snagged 29 defensive rebounds and 15 offensive boards for a total of 44 in this matchup. They also turned the ball over 21 times, while earning 9 steals for the matchup. The Nets earned 25 personal fouls for this contest which got the Hornets to the charity stripe for a total of 15 shots. They were able to bury 13 of the free throws for a percentage of 86.7%. With respect to shots from distance, Charlotte made 15 of 48 attempts (31.3%). Overall, the Hornets ended up shooting 41 for 93 from the floor which had them shooting 44.1%. The Hornets permitted the Nets to make 36 out of their 80 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 45.0% for this contest. They finished 38.7% from distance by connecting on 12 out of 31 and ended up shooting 19 out of 25 at the free throw line (76.0%). In relation to cleaning the glass, Charlotte permitted Brooklyn to pull down 38 overall (11 offensive).

Grayson Allen was important for the Hornets in this game. Allen accumulated 21 points in his 29 mins of playing time and had 4 dimes for this game. He knocked down 6 of 9 in this game for a field goal rate of 66.7%, and had 3 rebounds.

Charlotte had a win-loss record of 44-38 last year. As an offensive unit, the Hornets shot 46.0% from the field, which had them ranked 25th in basketball. Charlotte accounted for 9,513 points throughout last season (116.0 per contest) and they collected 46.1 boards per game. They assisted teammates 26.3 times per contest (15th in the league) and they turned it over 15.4 times per game. The Hornets committed 19.1 fouls per contest and they hit 81.8% from the charity stripe.

The Charlotte defense allowed 35.9% on 3-point attempts (1,051 of 2,924) and opponents made 80.1% of their free throw shots. They allowed 25.9 assists and 39.3 rebounds per game, which ranked them 9th and 1st in the league. The Hornets on the defensive side of the court were 7th in basketball in points per game surrendered with 111.2. They forced their opponents into 12.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and allowed teams to shoot 46.7% from the floor (11th in the league).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Atlanta (-2.5)

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