Hornets to Tussle with the Top Team in Western Conference

Charlotte Hornets, Minnesota Timberwolves game preview.

CHARLOTTE HORNETS (9-31) at MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES (30-12)

Injury Report

Hornets: LaMelo Ball (R Ankle Soreness) and Nick Richards (R Ankle) are questionable. Gordon Hayward (L Calf) and Mark Williams (Low Back) are out.

Timberwolves: N/A.

Game Preview

The Minnesota Timberwolves have emerged as the top team in the Western Conference and have not lost a game to a team with a losing record since falling to the Atlanta Hawks on October 30th. So if you're thinking the Hornets can still turn their season around, it's most likely not going to start tonight.

Charlotte has a couple of big question marks entering this game with LaMelo Ball and Nick Richards listed as questionable. Ball recorded 28 points on 10/13 shooting in the win over San Antonio on Friday, but is dealing with ankle soreness once again and missed Saturday's game against Philadelphia. 

With Richards also out against Philly, the Hornets had to play small ball going with a lineup that consisted of Terry Rozier, Brandon Miller, Cody Martin, Miles Bridges, and P.J. Washington. If that's the case tonight, Charlotte will have a tough time hanging around with the duo of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert who are averaging a combined 34.8 points and 21.4 rebounds per game.

Key Matchup: Defending Anthony Edwards

Edwards is one of the most prolific scorers, but he is prone to turn the ball over averaging 3.5 turnovers on the season and an even higher rate (3.9) over the last ten games. I'm sure Steve Clifford will mix up his coverages and stick Cody Martin, the Hornets' best on-ball defender, on Edwards at times. However, Terry Rozier and Brandon Miller need to step it up if given the responsibility to defend Edwards. As a team, the Timberwolves are 28th in turnovers.

Projected Starting Lineups:

CHARLOTTE HORNETS	MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
LaMelo Ball (?)	Mike Conley
Terry Rozier	Anthony Edwards
Cody Martin	Jaden McDaniels
Miles Bridges	Karl-Anthony Towns
Nick Richards (?)	Rudy Gobert

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