What: Charlotte Hornets (40-36) (19-19 home) vs Phoenix Suns (42-34) (18-19 away)
When: 7:00pm Eastern
Where: Spectrum Center; Charlotte, NC
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network, NBA League Pass
Outfitting: Hornets–Icon (teal), Suns–Association (white)
Game Lines: Hornets -5.5, Hornets money line -218, O/U 220.5
Injuries:
Hornets: PJ Hall-out (ankle)
Suns: Mark Williams-questionable (foot), Amir Coffey-out (foot), Haywood Highsmith-out (knee)
It’s weird gearing up for these games with so much pressure. Normally there’s a feeling of dread for each late season Hornets game because they’ve become an unwatchable mess careening towards another lottery pick. Now there’s a feeling of dread because any loss could have massive implications on playoff seeding.
The Hornets took care of business against the tanking Nets on Tuesday. Now they have to face a team that is trying to win, but they’re probably not as good as the Hornets right now. The Suns are just about locked into the seven seed, but a run of wins or losses could see that change. They’ve been treading water at best, trending down at worst over the last couple of weeks. They’re 3-7 in their last ten with their wins and losses mostly following the line between the A League and B League the NBA has become. They have a good win over the Raptors, but that’s canceled out by a loss to the Bucks. The other eight games are all losses to teams trying to win and wins over teams trying to lose.
Devin Booker and Jalen Green shoulder the majority of the offensive burden, while Dillon Brooks and Grayson Allen average career highs in scoring to supplement them. Even with all that firepower on the wings, the Suns have struggled to consistently find good offense. They’re 17th in the league in offensive rating in no small part because of their shot diet. Only the Celtics get to the rim less often, and nearly a third of the team’s shot attempts come from the mid range. They do shoot the three well, so the Hornets are going to want to try and funnel the Suns into help at the rim.
The Suns are a good offensive rebounding team, but they struggle on the defensive glass. The Hornets have struggled with their outside shooting in the last few games, and the Suns are pretty good defensively. If the shots still aren’t falling, the Hornets absolutely have to capitalize on their advantage on the glass. They do that, they can hang onto their current spot at eighth in the Eastern Conference standings.
