Charlotte Hornets vs Cleveland Cavaliers Game Preview

How do the Hornets stack up against the Cavaliers tonight?

Game 17: Charlotte (4-12) vs Cleveland (8-6)

The Charlotte Hornets enter tonight's matchup on the road in Cleveland following their ninth loss in their last ten games. It's (obviously) been a rough start to the season in Charlotte. 

Injuries 

Charlotte with again be without LaMelo Ball tonight following his scary ankle sprain suffered against the Pacers on Wednesday. On top of Ball's absence, the Hornets will take on the Cavaliers without Dennis Smith Jr. and Cody Martin. However, Gordon Hayward is questionable for tonight's tilt, meaning we might see his return.

On the Cleveland side, the Cavaliers will most likely be without Dean Wade as he is doubtful with a knee injury, and Jarrett Allen is questionable recovering from a non-COVID illness.

Recent Results

As stated earlier, the Hornets are reeling. They defeated Orlando 112-105 on Monday night stopping an eight game skid, but the good times came to a screeching halt in a loss to Indiana on Wednesday evening. Per NBA.com, the Hornets have the worst offense rating and 26th ranked defense in the league over the last ten games. Charlotte's net rating of -11.1 is good for 29th in the NBA, ahead of only San Antonio.

 Charlotte isn't playing well on either side of the court. Blame injuries, blame lack of talent, blame coaching, blame whatever, but the Hornets aren't performing like a good basketball team these days. 

On the other bench, Cleveland has come down from their hot start. The Cavaliers are 5-5 in their past ten games following a 3-1 start. Cleveland is still ranked seventh in the NBA on the offensive end over their last ten games, but their 18th ranked defense is holding them back from being an elite team. They are 12th in net rating in their past ten games.

Keys to the Game

1. Limit the Cleveland backcourt. 

The Cavaliers starting backcourt of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell are the two leading scorers for Cleveland and combine for 52.3 points and 13.8 assists per game. When it comes to ranking the best backcourts in the NBA, you don't have to go too far down the list to find Cleveland. Charlotte's backcourt has been decimated by injuries and will need to limit the production by Garland and Mitchell if they want to stay in the game tonight.

2. Win the turnover battle.

In their last ten games the Hornets are 20th in turnover percentage and Cleveland is 8th. Charlotte has been awful at taking care of the ball in their losses, especially in the fourth quarter of close games. Again, not having LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward Dennis Smith Jr. and Cody Martin consistently has led to the team having to find production from unheralded players like James Bouknight and Theo Maledon late in games, which leads to the final key.

3. Win the fourth quarter.

When the games have been close, Charlotte has struggled. The Hornets are in the bottom ten in both offensive and defensive efficiency in the fourth quarters of games. Unfortunately for Charlotte, Cleveland is the second best defense and 11th best offense in those same situations. If the game is close, Cleveland has the upper hand. However, Charlotte just needs to play better in winning time, and they'll need to do that tonight to upset the Cavaliers. 

Spread and Over/Under

Cleveland -9.5

Over/Under 220.5

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