What: Charlotte Hornets (10-39) (5-20 home) vs Toronto Raptors (17-33) (7-20 away)

When: 7:00pm Eastern

Where: Spectrum Center; Charlotte, NC

How to watch: Bally Sports Southeast, NBA League Pass

Outfitting: Hornets–Association (white), Raptors–Statement (black)

Game Lines: Hornets +6.5, O/U 224.5

Injuries:
Hornets: Gordon Hayward-questionable (calf), Cody Martin-questionable (knee), Frank Ntilikina-questionable (hip), LaMelo Ball-out (ankle), Mark Williams-out (back)

Raptors: Gary Trent Jr.-probable (back), Jontay Porter-questionable (back)

Before we even get into the match-up between the Charlotte Hornets and the Raptors, we’ve got to point out that Gordon Hayward has made the leap from out to questionable just in time for the trade deadline. If he is able to go, he’ll be a much needed presence as a ball handler and floor organizer. I imagine there will be a lot of rust and a minutes restriction, so he probably won’t put up huge numbers, but he’ll definitely be felt.

The Raptors have been on roughly the same trajectory as the Hornets since they traded their best players. Crazy how that works. They pulled off an upset win over the Celtics in the first game after they traded Pascal Siakam. They’ve gone 1-8 since. They’re on the sixth game of a six game road trip and are coming off a 38 point loss to the Pelicans on Monday. They’re the only team in the league with a worse net rating than the Hornets in their last nine games.

Former Knicks RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley have joined Scottie Barnes as the Raptors top options since coming over in the OG Anunoby trade. Bruce Brown hasn’t quite made the impact since coming over in the trade for Pascal Siakam. Barnes is having a breakout third year, and his ability to stretch the floor has opened up his offensive game. There just isn’t enough around him for it to matter right now.

The Hornets have Brandon Miller, and that’s all that matters. In three games in February, he’s averaged 32.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists per game while shooting 49.3% from the field and 48.8% from three. He’s averaging the fourth most points per game in the entire league in the month. The sample size is definitely adequate to make judgments on.

It’s one of the better chances the Hornets have to win a game. It’d be nice to get one or two of those before we reach the all star break.