What: Charlotte Hornets (7-15) (4-8 home) vs New Orleans Pelicans (14-11) (5-7 away)
When: 7:00pm Eastern
Where: Spectrum Center; Charlotte, NC
How to watch: Bally Sports Southeast, NBA League Pass
Outfitting: Hornets–City (teal/mint), Pelicans–Association (white)
Game Lines: Hornets +6.5, O/U 232.5
Injuries:
Hornets: PJ Washington-questionable (shoulder), Mark Williams-doubtful (back), LaMelo Ball-out (ankle), Cody Martin-out (knee), Frank Ntilikina-out (leg)
Pelicans: Zion Williamson-questionable (ankle), Larry Nance Jr.-out (ribs), Matt Ryan-out (elbow)
Zion Williamson was also listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game against the Wizards, and he ended up sitting out, so it looks like he’s a true questionable for tonight’s game.
The Pelicans are probably better than their 14-11 record would suggest. They had a five game losing streak as part of a 4-6 start but have since recovered to go 10-5 over their last 15. In those 15 games, they are 10th in offense and 9th in defense. Just good team stuff.
They are led by a Cerebrus of Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, and CJ McCollum. All three are averaging at least 20 points and 4.5 assists per game, and they each get their points in very different ways. Ingram is an old school mid range scorer, Williamson is a wrecking ball in the paint, and McCollum is a perimeter sniper. Sounds like perfect balance, right? Wrong. The Pelicans have actually been outscored with all three on the floor together. They’ve still made it work on the whole.
One of the key cogs in making the whole system go is wing Trey Murphy III, who has appeared in five games in the month of December after missing the first month and a half of the season with a knee injury he suffered in the offseason. In the five games he’s appeared in, the Pelicans are 4-1, and their net rating has been 20.1 points per 100 possessions better in his minutes than it was without him. He’s a very good defender and is averaging 17 points on 43.2% 3-point shooting this season. He’s a menace.
Meanwhile, the Hornets will potentially be out three rotation players. LaMelo Ball is still out, and I’d be surprised if either of PJ Washington or Mark Williams played. That means we’ll possibly see the regular season debut of Nathan Mensah, who just signed a two-way contract with the team on Thursday. The Hornets will probably need the big depth to deal with Jonas Valanciunas and Zion Williamson inside (if he plays).
If there’s one thing the Hornets have going for them, it’s that the Pelicans have been a little more up and down on the road. They may be a little bit vulnerable. The Hornets will need Terry Rozier to continue his star turn and they’ll need to play physical on the interior, which has been a pitfall for them all season.
