What: Charlotte Hornets (4-9) at Washington Wizards (2-11)
When: 7:00pm Eastern
Where: Spectrum Center; Charlotte, NC
How to watch: Bally Sports Southeast, NBA League Pass
Outfitting: Hornets–Association (white), Wizards–Icon (red)
Game lines: Hornets -4.5, O/U 242.5
Injuries:
Hornets: Terry Rozier-out (groin), Nick Richards-out (concussion), Cody Martin-out (knee), James Bouknight-out (knee), Frank Ntilikina-out (leg)
Wizards: Delon Wright-out (knee)
If you’ve only watched the Wizards when they’ve played the Hornets (and why would you watch them otherwise), you might think they’re a frisky team that can cause headaches on any given night. That hasn’t really been the case against non-Hornets teams though. They’re 1-10 against their non-Hornets opposition and are currently on a streak of three straight double digit losses. In that three game stretch, their defensive rating is a dreadful 130.1 points per 100 possessions.
Not much has changed with the Wizards since the first two meeting between these teams. Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma still take most of the shots. Poole had a good game against the Bucks but had been mired in a slump in the stretch of games leading up to that one. Kuzma has been more consistently productive and randomly dished out 13 assists in that loss to the Bucks on Monday.
The easiest path to a win for the Hornets is to dominate inside. The Wizards have been laughably poor on the glass. They’ve only grabbed 43.1% of available rebounds, which is 3.8% worse than the next worst team. That’s the same as the gap between the second worst Bulls and the 14th ranked Timberwolves. They only rebound 64.6% of their opponents’ misses when you typically want to see that number over 70%. Mark Williams should strive to haul in 10 offensive rebounds.
The Wizards interior struggles aren’t just limited to the glass. They’ve allowed teams to shoot 72.2% inside the restricted area, which is second worst in the league. The Hornets need to relentlessly attack the basket and crash the offensive glass. There’s no reason they can’t win the physicality and effort battle against this Wizards team. If they do that, they can notch their second straight win.
