Swarm and Sting
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Charlotte Hornets Continue Road Trip in Phoenix to Face Off Against the Suns

By Jerry Stephens

Jan 6, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Charlotte Hornets center Cody Zeller (40) dribbles the basketball as Phoenix Suns center Tyson Chandler (4) defends in the second half of the game at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns won 111-102. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 6, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Charlotte Hornets center Cody Zeller (40) dribbles the basketball as Phoenix Suns center Tyson Chandler (4) defends in the second half of the game at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns won 111-102. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports /
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In the midst of a six-game road trip, the Charlotte Hornets take their talents to Phoenix as they face off against the Suns for the first time this season.

The Charlotte Hornets (26-34) are set to take on the Phoenix Suns (18-42) in the fifth game of their current road trip. After defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in their last match, Steve Clifford’s side attempts to string together two victories for the first time since late January. Charlotte’s only 10-21 away from home this season so a couple of wins outside of the Queen City will do them some good.

In their last outing, the Suns fell to the Memphis Grizzlies, 130-112. That was their third consecutive defeat as they have now lost eight of their last 10 games in total. On the plus side, 10 of Phoenix’s 18 wins this season have come at home. After their recent three-game road trip, they will be happy to return back to Arizona.

This will be the first of two meetings between the two sides this season. In their last seven regular season matchups, the Hornets are only 2-5 against the Suns since 2011. Also, they are only 1-4 in Phoenix since that time as well. With the Suns’ struggles and poor record this year, there is a good chance that Charlotte can actually sweep their season series this time around.

More from Swarm and Sting

Charlotte Hornets @ Phoenix Suns

9:00 p.m. EST, Thursday, March 2nd, 2017

Talking Stick Resort Arena

Broadcast on FOX Sports Southeast

Injury Report:

CHA:

OUT – Ramon Sessions (left knee surgery), missed last 10 games (2/4 – 2/28)
OUT – Miles Plumlee (right calf strain), missed last four games (2/15 – 2/28)

PHX:

Dragan Bender (right ankle surgery) is out; has missed 14 games (1/26-1/30, 2/3-2/28)

Biggest Story:

Rebounding Battle

The battle of the boards is one of the most underrated aspects of NBA games today. Each of these teams excels in different aspects of rebounding. Whichever side comes out on top will have a decisive advantage in this meeting between one of the best defensive rebounding teams and one of the best offensive reboundings quads.

While the Hornets are the best defensive rebounding team in the league this season at 36.1 rebounds per game on that end of the court, the Suns are the fourth best offensive rebounding team in the NBA with 11.9 per game. Both sides rank in the top-10 in total rebounding this year. Keep a close eye on the rebounding numbers as they will be important.

Matchup to Watch:

Frank Kaminsky vs Devin Booker

While Kemba Walker vs Eric Bledsoe is the real all-star type matchup, the under the radar one is definitely Kaminsky vs Booker. The two players may play different positions but they will always be closely linked throughout their career. They were both drafted in first round lottery of the 2015 NBA Draft with the Hornets taking Frank four spots ahead of Devin.

Next: Kaminsky's Changing Perceptions

It is already clear that Booker has the star potential and will likely have the better career but that doesn’t mean Kaminsky isn’t valuable. He has been on a tear as of late for Charlotte and outplaying his fellow sophomore would be huge.

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