What: Charlotte Hornets (8-28) (2-15 away) at Utah Jazz (10-28) (3-14 home)

When: 9:00pm Eastern

Where: Delta Center; Salt Lake City, UT

How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network, NBA League Pass

Outfitting: Hornets–Association (white), Jazz–Statement 2 (black/purple)

Game Lines: Hornets -5.5, Hornets money line -215, O/U 220.5

Injuries:
Hornets: Tre Mann-out (back), Grant Williams-out (knee)

Jazz: Keyonte George-questionable (foot), Lauri Markkanen-out (back), John Collins-out (hip), Jordan Clarkson-out (foot), Collin Sexton-out (rest), Taylor Hendricks-out (leg), Johnny Juzang-out (hand)

The Jazz are trying to tank for real this season. They sold off all of their good players a few years ago, but Lauir Markkanen was good enough to pull the team into mediocrity. Markkanen has had a pretty down year compared to his first two in Utah, and the Jazz as a team have suffered as well. Now they’re shutting down anyone that doesn’t feel 100% when they get out of bed in the morning, much like we’ve seen the Hornets do in recent seasons.

That means tonight, when the Jazz face an equally inept opponent, they’ve made sure to be without all of their top five scorers. Collin Sexton didn’t have an injury, so they’ve listed him out for rest purposes even though the Jazz have had two days off since their last game.

Despite the dearth of starting talent, the Jazz managed to pull off an overtime win over the Nets on Sunday night. In that game, rookie Isaiah Collier led the Jazz with 23 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. Sexton (who, again, is not playing tonight) added 21. Kyle Filipowski, Brice Sensabaugh, and old pal Svi Mykhailiuk also chipped in double figure scoring nights. As you can see by the names, it’s not a sustainable winning model.

The Hornets will be reasonably healthy once again, so on paper, they have a whole lot more firepower than the Jazz. That’s why they’re actually favored for once. Hopefully they can make it count.