What: Charlotte Hornets (3-5) (1-2 away) at Brooklyn Nets (1-6) (0-3 home)
When: 7:30pm Eastern
Where: Barclays Center; Brooklyn, NY
How to watch: Local TV (TV 64), DAZN, NBA League Pass
Outfitting: Hornets–Icon (teal), Nets–Icon (black)
Game Lines: Hornets -3.5, Hornets money line -162, O/U 213.5
Injuries:
Hornets: Kon Knueppel-probable (hamstring), Coby White-probable (calf), Grant Williams-out (hamstring)
Nets: Egor Demin-out (knee)
It’s a triumphant day, and we get to watch the Charlotte Hornets play a basketball game with both Kon Knueppel and Coby White for the first time this season. That means the Hornets will have their full starting lineup. We saw a little glimpse into what White can do for the starters against the Pistons, though it was only for a small amount of time. Kon Knueppel should exponentially improve it. He’ll take the spot of Sion James, which adds a significant amount of spacing around the other ball handlers while also adding another attacking, scoring threat. He’ll probably be on a tight minutes restriction, but at least he’s back.
The Hornets will play the Nets for the second time. It’s the third time in nine games that they’ll play a repeat opponent. They played the Nets in the season opener and were able to grind out a win. Since then, the Nets have won just one game as the careen towards a battle to get out of the relegation zone. Their season has gone exactly as expected. Julius Randle and Michael Porter Jr. They have by far the highest usage on the team are kind of the determinant on whether or not the team is competitive. Randle is a bowling ball that isn’t the most winning player but does cause problems. Michael Porter Jr. makes some ridiculous shots but also isn’t a winning player most of the time. The scariest thing about this team is if one of those guys gets rolling and can’t be stopped. Otherwise, there’s not a lot there.
It’ll be a matchup of two of the bottom three teams in terms of offensive rating, which would imply that this is going to be another gross game to watch. Hopefully the returns of White and Knueppel will change that.
