Game Preview: Charlotte Hornets vs Washington Wizards

Charlotte meets Washington again for Round 2 of their mini series

Injury Report

Hornets: PROBABLE: Gordon Hayward (R Hamstring Strain) OUT: Terry Rozier (Groin), James Bouknight (Knee), Cody Martin (Knee), Frank Ntilikina (Tibia), Miles Bridges (Suspension)

Wizards: NONE

Game Preview: The Hornets enter their first in-season tournament game 2-5 on the season with losses to the Pistons, Rockets, and most recently a blowout loss against the Wizards who came into last game with one win on the season. 

It's normally absurd to call Game 8 of the season a "must-win" game, but I think the Hornets are at a unique position where it may apply here. Losing two straight against a bottom team in the league and four straight overall would be a dagger to the Hornets morale that'd be hard to recover from. 

To walk out of Washington with a win the Hornets are going to have to dial in on the defensive end and make Wizards shooters work to get their shots. On Wednesday, the Wizards shooters off the bench went 13/23 from 3 (56.5%) and the team overall knocked down 18 triples. Some people may just toss this up to shooting luck and while may have an impact this has been a common theme this season, the Hornets are giving up the 4th most triples in the league (14.6) and opponents are shooting 39.4% from 3 (T-3rd worst). Defending the shooters should be Charlotte's No. 1 focus on defense entering the game along with being disciplined on defense. Mark Williams has to stay out of foul trouble because Charlotte needs him out there for more than the 18 minutes he played last game. On the flip side, the Hornets need a larger contribution from their bench that only pieced together 18 points last game (non garbage time).

Key Matchup: LaMelo Ball versus Jordan Poole

Two of the most exciting young guards matchup today with Poole now being in the same position as LaMelo as the lead guard and the future of an organization. 

LaMelo Ball has been on a roll recently coming off of back-to-back 30 PT games. Jordan Poole is going to come into the game looking to kill after scoring a season-low 11 points in his last outing. The 2022 NBA Champion has shown that he brings it when the lights are brightest, so I expect him and LaMelo to put on a show in this In-Season tournament game. 

Position	Washington Wizards	Charlotte Hornets
PG	Tyus	LaMelo Ball
SG	Jordan Poole	Brandon Miller
SF	Deni Avdija	Gordon Hayward
PF	Kyle Kuzma	PJ Washington
C	Daniel Gafford	Mark Williams