What: Charlotte Hornets (14-46) (9-22 home) vs Minnesota Timberwolves (34-29) (17-15 away)
When: 7:00pm Eastern
Where: Spectrum Center; Charlotte, NC
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network, NBA League Pass
Outfitting: Hornets–Icon (teal), Timberwolves–Statement (black)
Game Lines: Hornets +9.5, Hornets money line +300, O/U 223.5
Injuries:
Hornets: Jusuf Nurkic-probable (back), Taj Gibson-probable but probably won’t play anyway (illness), Josh Okogie-out (hamstring), Brandon Miller-out (wrist), Tre Mann-out (back), Grant Williams-out (knee)
Timberwolves: Not submitted as of this writing since they played last night
The Timberwolves have so far been unable to recapture the magic of last season. After having their best season in 20 years, the organization traded away probably their second best player for a worse player and a good role player. Shockingly, they’ve gotten worse. Even though Karl-Anthony Towns isn’t known as a great defender, he was replaced by another non-defender in Julius Randle. The Wolves’ defense has fallen off from their league best mark a year ago and the offense has dipped a bit as well.
Anthony Edwards is the obvious main attraction. He’s replaced some of the high flying dunks with more off the dribble threes, and his offensive efficiency has actually improved because of it. He’s fourth in the league in scoring and is converting over 40% of his threes while attempting them at a rate that trails only Steph Curry. Naz Reid is a sparkplug either off the bench or as a fill in starter, which he might be tonight while Rudy Gobert deals with a back issue. Julius Randle is having a good season.
Minnesota has a good collection of role players that will probably dominate the Hornets’ bench. Donte DiVincenzo and Nickeil Alexander-Walker are both pesky and liable to get hot. Rookies Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. have had some bright moments when given opportunities.
The Hornets will have the same complement of players they had against the Warriors. They’ve at least elevated their play back to a level of watchable competitiveness. That might not be enough against another good Western Conference team, but it at least becomes somewhat worth paying attention to.
