What: Charlotte Hornets (42-36) (21-17 away) at Minnesota Timberwolves (46-31) (25-14 home)

When: 7:00pm Eastern

Where: Target Center; Minneapolis, MN

How to watch: Local broadcast television, FanDuel Sports Network, NBA League Pass

Outfitting: Hornets–Association (white), Timberwolves–Icon (navy)

Game Lines: Hornets -1.5, Hornets money line -122, O/U 229.5

Injuries:
Hornets: Moussa Diabate-probable (ankle), PJ Hall-out (ankle)

Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards-questionable (knee), Jaden McDaniels-out (knee)

The Hornets have by far the hardest schedule from here through the end of the season. They play the 46-31 Timberwolves tonight, and that’s the easiest game left on the schedule. They’re desperately clinging to the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race, and this final week is going to fully test their mettle.

The Timberwolves do enter this contest in a little bit of up-and-down form. They’re 6-8 in the last 30 days or so. A lot of that has been without Anthony Edwards, but they are just 2-5 in the games Edwards has played within that span. Edwards has been inconsistent when he plays while dealing with a knee injury, and the offense isn’t the most dynamic without his creation ability. The defense has held strong throughout the season, but the offense has been in the tank for the last month or so. The team’s offensive stars have been struggling to shoot consistently, but that’s not something the Hornets are going to be able to rely on. Edwards, for example, dropped back to back games with 36 and 42 points in the middle of a rough patch.

The keys for the Hornets defensively will be keeping Julius Randle and Anthony Edwards away from the basket. Julius Randle is a very willing jump shooter, but he doesn’t shoot it well enough to consistently support an offense. If he’s hoisting a bunch of mid range jumpers, the Hornets are likely to be okay. Edwards can score from anywhere because he’s one of the best players in the league, but the Hornets will be best off he’s forced into tough jumpers instead of finishes at the rim, where he’s elite for a guard. While he’s better than most of his peers at scoring in the mid range, it’s still not efficient enough to keep up with a normal Hornets offensive performance.

On the other side, the Hornets are going to need their jumpers to fall. Rudy Gobert is still large and very good at protecting the basket. The Hornets will need to pull him away from the basket whenever possible and take advantage of the space he’s inevitably going to leave on the perimeter. I imagine Minnesota is going to employ the heavy drop coverage to take away the handoffs from Moussa Diabate and Ryan Kalkbrenner. We’ll see if Charles Lee and the coaching staff have a counter to that.

The Hornets currently sit one game behind the 76ers, whose next two games are at the Spurs and at the Rockets. They have a small edge over the Magic and Heat. Both of them have a handful of tough games as well. The Hornets need a couple of wins in this final stretch of the season. Picking off the Timberwolves would be a massive boost to their playoffs hopes.