Charlotte Hornets vs Oklahoma City Thunder Game Preview

Breaking down Friday night's game between Charlotte and Oklahoma City.

Game 46: Charlotte Hornets (25-20) vs Oklahoma City Thunder (14-30)

The Hornets look to make it three wins in a row on Friday night after defeating the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics on the road earlier this week. This is a game that Charlotte has to win. Sure, every game matters but these are the types of games that you have to win if you want to have a chance to make the playoffs. The Hornets have already lost a couple of clunkers to the Houston Rockets in overtime and to the Orlando Magic last Friday. 

Head coach James Borrego said that the Magic handled their recent losses better than the Hornets handled their success and that is why the game played out the way it did a week ago. It'll be interesting to see if the Hornets go through the motions again and play down to the level of their opponent if the message was received and they play like they should against an inferior team.

2021-22 Team Stats

PPG: 100.7 (OKC), 114.4 (CHA)

RPG: 45.8 (OKC), 43.8 (CHA)

APG: 20.9 (OKC), 27.1 (CHA)

FG%: 41.7% (OKC), 46.2% (CHA)

3FG%: 31.2% (OKC), 37.3% (CHA)

FT%: 78.6% (OKC), 73.8% (CHA)

2021-22 Team Leaders (Returners only):

Minutes: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - 34.8 (OKC), Miles Bridges - 36.1 (CHA)

FG%: Derrick Favors - 49.7 % (OKC), Mason Plumlee - 62.3% (CHA)

3FG%: Mike Muscala- 44.1% (OKC), Cody Martin - 46.2% (CHA)

PPG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - 22.5 (OKC), Miles Bridges - 20.0 (CHA)

RPG: Josh Giddey - 7.4 (OKC), LaMelo Ball/Miles Bridges - 7.3 (CHA)

APG: Josh Giddey - 6.3 (OKC), LaMelo Ball - 7.7 (CHA)

SPG: Josh Giddey - 1.0 (OKC), LaMelo Ball- 1.6 (CHA)

Stat key: PPG - points per game | RPG - rebounds per game | APG - assists per game | SPG - steals per game

Thunder Roster

PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tre Mann, Theo Maledon

SG: Josh Giddey, Ty Jerome 

SF: Aaron Wiggins, Kenrich Williams (OUT), Aleksej Pokusevski

PF: Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley

C: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Derrick Favors, Mike Muscala, Isaiah Roby, Olivier Sarr

Head coach: Mark Daigneault

Hornets roster

PG: LaMelo Ball, Ish Smith

SG: Terry Rozier, Cody Martin, James Bouknight

SF: Gordon Hayward, Kelly Oubre Jr., Jalen McDaniels

PF: Miles Bridges, P.J. Washington, J.T. Thor

C: Mason Plumlee, Nick Richards, Kai Jones

Head coach: James Borrego

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