What: Charlotte Hornets (2-5) at Washington Wizards (2-5)
When: 7:00pm Eastern
Where: Capital One Arena; Washington DC
How to watch: Bally Sports Southeast, NBA League Pass
Outfitting: Hornets-Association (white), Wizards-City (black) [with the crazy tournament court]
Game Lines: Hornets +2.5, O/U 241.5
Injuries:
Hornets: Gordon Hayward-probable (hamstring), Terry Rozier-out (groin), Cody Martin-out (knee), James Bouknight-out (knee), Frank Ntilikina-out (leg)
Wizards: Still nothing
There’s not much to preview for this one. These teams just played on Wednesday, and we all know how that went. The Hornets couldn’t stop the Wizards and somehow looked disjointed and sluggish on offense despite facing one of the worst defenses in the league. The key to this one will be containing Danilo Gallinari off the bench and staying attached to the Wizards on the perimeter.
It would help if the Hornets could make a few 3-pointers too. But before that can happen, the Hornets will have to actually try them. 3-pointers make up 31.6% of the Hornets shot attempts, which is the lowest mark in the league. Along with that, the Hornets have the third lowest assist rate on 3-pointers, meaning a lot of the attempts they do get up are tough shots off the dribble. Meanwhile their opponents are shooting the ninth most threes per game while hitting the third highest percentage of them.
That’ll be a big part of tonight’s game. The Wizards made 18 3-pointers to the Hornets eight on Wednesday. If the Hornets can’t improve that number, it’ll be another loss.
As for the stakes–it’ll be fun to watch a game with more on the line than just a regular season win. It’s the first group stage game for the Hornets. It still counts towards the regular season records, but wins in these games give teams a chance to play for $500,000 per player and a cool trophy. Who doesn’t like winning trophies? You certainly will know it’s happening. The court tonight will be gray and teal. Internet points to anyone that doesn’t yell at the cloud and make a fuss about it.
