What: Charlotte Hornets (12-33) (7-18 home) vs Denver Nuggets (29-19) (15-11 away)
When: 7:00pm Eastern
Where: Spectrum Center; Charlotte, NC
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network, NBA League Pass
Outfitting: Hornets–City (mint), Nuggets–Association (white)
Game Lines: Hornets +13.5, Hornets money line +600, O/U 223.5
The Hornets continue their extended homestand, and it’s looking like it won’t be a fruitful one. They’ve won just one of the first five games and now host a Nuggets team that’s better than all the other teams that have already beaten the Hornets.
The Nuggets are essentially the same team everyone’s come to know over the last few years. They’ve lost a few parts each season after their championship in 2023, but the general roster construction is the same and most of the key players are still there. Nikola Jokic is the same guy he’s been and is arguably the best player in the world right now. He’s leading the team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals per game. The Nuggets are virtually unstoppable with him on the court and pretty terrible with him off, as is tradition.
Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Michael Porter Jr. have reprised their usual roles. Murray and Porter are the main scoring support for Jokic. Gordon is their key glue guy. Christian Braun is another energy guy to fill in the gaps.
The biggest change to the Nuggets from years past is the addition of Russell Westbrook. I think the general public was about done with Westbrook after his Los Angeles stints, but he seems to have found a home in Denver. He and Jokic have developed a good chemistry, and he’s making enough jumpers that teams have to actually respect it. However, Westbrook left Friday’s game with hamstring tightness, so he’s probably not going to play tonight.
The Hornets have punted on this homestand really the rest of the season. There’s no telling who’s going to play tonight, but whoever is on the floor is going to be overmatched by the Nuggets. It’s hard to see this being particularly competitive outside of some uncharacteristic offensive performances from the Hornets that are active.
