What: Charlotte Hornets (7-24) (5-12 home) vs Chicago Bulls (14-18) (9-7 away)

When: 7:00pm Eastern

Where: Spectrum Center; Charlotte, NC

How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network, NBA League Pass

Outfitting: Hornets–City (mint), Bulls–Statement (black)

Game Lines: Hornets +4.5, Hornets money line +160, O/U 225.5

Injuries:
Hornets: LaMelo Ball-doubtful (wrist, ankle), Brandon Miller-doubtful (ankle), Cody Martin-doubtful (knee), Tre Mann-out (back), Grant Williams-out (knee)

Bulls: Zach LaVine-probable (toe), Josh Giddey-probable (ankle), Jalen Smith-questionable (ankle), Ayo Dosunmu-doubtful (calf)

The Hornets appear to have given up on the season. As the season has trudged on, the injury report has grown longer and the ailments turned more mild. Clearly the organization isn’t intent on pushing players to try to push for wins, and at this point, it would probably be a fruitless endeavor anyway.

So the players that haven’t found an excuse to sit out will try to beat a Bulls team that’s generally at full strength. Without Ball, Miller, or Mann, Miles Bridges will be entrusted as the team’s primary scorer, and that hasn’t gone well most of the time lately. The one place where the Hornets could make noise against some teams is on the offensive glass, but the Bulls are one of the better defensive rebounding teams in the league, so that probably won’t help the Hornets any tonight.

If the Hornets are going to win, they need to hold Zach LaVine to an inefficient shooting night and grind out a low scoring contest. The Bulls have been one of the fastest teams in the league, and there’s no way the Hornets can keep pace for a higher amount of possessions than usual given their complete dearth of firepower. The Bulls have been really bad defensively, which could help the cause, but I have no faith that the Hornets can actually make any of the open looks they’re able to get.