What: Charlotte Hornets (19-59) (12-28 home) vs Memphis Grizzlies (46-31) (21-18 away)
When: 7:00pm Eastern
Where: Spectrum Center; Charlotte, NC
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Southeast, NBA League Pass
Outfitting: Hornets–Statement (purple), Grizzlies–Classic (white with the big grizzly bear)
Game Lines: Hornets +13.5, Hornets money line +700, O/U 230.5
Injuries:
Hornets: Damion Baugh-out (hip), Josh Green-out (shoulder), LaMelo Ball-out (ankle), Brandon Miller-out (wrist), Tre Mann-out (back), Grant Williams-out (knee)
Grizzlies: Brandon Clarke-out (knee), Zyon Pullin-out (knee)
The Hornets mercifully stop playing games in front of their fans in Spectrum Center after tonight. While they’re playing out the string with eyes towards the offseason, the Grizzlies will be heavily motivated to win as many games as possible. They’re currently the 8 seed in the Western Conference, but they’re only a half game out of fourth. It’s as packed a playoff race as you’re going to see, and every win could be the difference between hosting the first round or playing in the play-in round.
Even with the Grizzlies in the midst of serious playoff contention, they fired head coach Taylor Jenkins a couple weeks ago. The front office kind of undermined him last summer with the idea that some new assistants could bring in a revolutionary offense. That worked for a bit but started to unravel after the all star break. Along with Jenkins, Memphis fired one of the new assistants they brought in last season. It’s quite a mess over there.
Still, the Grizzlies are massively better than the Hornets. They’ve gone back to a more Ja Morant-centric offense, and he’s thrived in it. Since the start of March, he’s averaged over 30 points a game while shooting well over 50% from the field. With Morant out against the Pistons on Sunday, Desmond Bane scored 38 points. Jaren Jackson Jr. is also the type of player that gives the Hornets fits.
The Hornets currently have two games separating them from the teams both above and below in the lottery standings. Both teams seem to want the same result tonight, so I think we all know what to expect.
