The Charlotte Hornets look to hit the reset button ahead of trip to Sacramento

Getting you ready for tonight's Hornets game.

Jan 10, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) shoots past the defense of Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) during the second half at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images / Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images

INJURY REPORT

Hornets: OUT -Tre Mann (Back), Grant Williams (Knee), Brandon Miller (Wrist), Josh Okogie (Hamstring), DaQuan Jeffries (Knee), Mark Willams (Injury Management)

Kings: OUT - None

Game Preview

Feb 22, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee talks to an official during a time out during the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

The Hornets (14-41) play their seventh of nine-straight games on the road as they face the Sacramento Kings (28-28). This is the first of two meetings between the teams this season, with the meeting in Charlotte due in April. These teams have been relatively evenly matched in recent history, splitting the season series in each of the last three seasons. 

The Hornets come into the game off the heels of a 53-point loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, tied with a 135-82 loss to the Sixers last season for the largest margin of defeat in team history. With three more games this week before the team returns to Charlotte, head coach Charles Lee is sure to have his hands full trying to make some quick fixes to keep this team relatively competitive in the meantime.

The Kings come into this matchup in the thick of the play-in race in the Western Conference behind the power veterans like Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, and the recently acquired Zach LaVine. Sitting currently as the tenth seed in the conference and final seed for the play-in tournament, the Kings have a 1.5-game lead over the Suns for the final spot and are sure to have a tough road ahead to hold onto their spot.

Key Matchup - Lineup Continuity Disparity

In the seven games played since the trade that saw the Kings send De’Aaron Fox to the Spurs and receive Zach LaVine from the Bulls, the Sacramento starting lineup has been one of the most potent lineups in the entire NBA. 

The Monk/Lavine/DeRozan/Murray/Sabonis lineup has played the most minutes of any five-man lineup over that stretch at a whopping 136 minutes- 40.5% of the team’s total minutes played. Not only is that unit playing a hefty amount of minutes together, but amongst five-man lineups with at least 30 minutes played together over that stretch, they are seventh in offensive rating, twelfth in net rating, first in effective field goal percentage, and ninth in rebound percentage.

In short, the Kings currently rely on their starters more than any team in the league and that lineup is still extremely effective.

On the Hornets' side, the story could not be more different with a drastic difference in starter continuity and minutes played. In fact, if you look at only lineups of players available for tonight’s game, the Payton/Smith Jr./Green/Bridges/Nurkic is the five-man unit that has played the most minutes together over the same time frame as the Kings unit with 13 minutes played together.

With a massive discrepancy in continuity at the top end of the roster, the Hornets have quite the hill to overcome when it comes to chemistry. To sneak out a win on the road, the entire Hornets rotation needs to get creative in finding ways to disrupt and ultimately best a lineup that is quite confident in its identity and strengths.

Projected Starting Lineups

Position	Charlotte Hornets	Sacramento Kings
PG	LaMelo Ball	Malik Monk
SG	Nick Smith Jr.	Zach Lavine
SF	Josh Green	DeMar DeRozan
PF	Miles Bridges	Keegan Murray
C	Jusuf Nurkic	Domantas Sabonis

- MORE STORIES FROM HORNETS ON SI -

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