Hoopinion: January 22nd Game Thread: Charlotte (21-19) @ Atlanta (27-14)

[Hawksquawk]

TIP-OFF: 7:30pm (EST)

TELEVISION: SportSouth

CHAT: Daily Dime Live

RADIO: Hawks Radio Network, Audio League Pass

GAME NOTES: Hawks/Bobcats

ATLANTA INJURY REPORT: None.

CHARLOTTE INJURY REPORT: Tyson Chandler is out.

BY THE NUMBERS

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
CHA (off)	89.8	1.041	48.6	25.4	25.7	17.8
ATL (def)	90	1.074	50.0	27.8	26.9	16.1

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
CHA (def)	89.8	1.02	48.4	27.6	25.1	17.9
ATL (off)	90	1.133	50.7	21.4	28.1	13.4

FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY: Atlanta -7, 190.5 o/u

OTHER PERSPECTIVES: Queen City Hoops

PREVIOUSLY, THE CHARLOTTE BOBCATS...won six straight games at home and not over chumps, either. Sacramento was the only sub-.500 team on the docket. Charlotte wrapped up the homestand with a ridiculous 104-65 win over Florida International the Miami Heat.

The Bobcats have passed the Lakers and the Celtics to become, currently, the league's stingiest defense. Their offense (ranked 26th in the league) is still making opposing defenses look good but they've improved markedly in that respect since adding Stephen Jackson ten games into the season. Both the current rank and that they improved significantly by adding a high-volume, low-efficiency player tells much about how poor they were early in the season.

Despite the recent success* and season-long suffocating defense, Charlotte have been terrible on the road. They've won just 3 of 18 road games though two of the wins were at Cleveland and Miami. The third was at Washington.

*That this season increases the chances that Larry Brown will be remembered as the premier coach of his generation rather than the cranky old guy who spectacularly mis-calculated the rationality of the New York Knicks organization allows me to sleep more easily.

Consider this an open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game (but pre-recap) thoughts.

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