The Charlotte Hornets look to end their seven-game road trip on a high note when they take on Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets for the first time this season.
The Charlotte Hornets (26-35) longest road trip of the season comes to a close in their matchup with the Denver Nuggets (28-33). Charlotte’s performance has varied from night to night on the current trip and this test gives them a chance to post a 3-4 road trip record before returning to the Spectrum Center. Charlotte just gave up 120 points to Phoenix and allowed the Suns to shoot a season-high 59.7% from the floor in their last outing.
On the other side, Denver is riding high off their latest back-to-back where they beat the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks by a combined 30 points. Denver’s budding star, Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets to victory with triple-doubles in both contests. The second-year player has really come into his own this season and it has been the major catalyst keeping Denver’s playoff hopes alive.
This will be the first meeting of the season between Denver and Charlotte. After losing both games against the Nuggets last year, the Hornets will look to take a 1-0 lead in their season series this time around. In their last four regular season matchups, Steve Clifford’s side is only 2-2.
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Charlotte Hornets @ Denver Nuggets
9:00 p.m. EST Saturday, March 4th, 2017
Pepsi Center
Broadcast on FOX Sports Southeast
Injury Report:
CHA:
OUT — Ramon Sessions (Left Knee Surgery)
OUT — Miles Plumlee (Right Calf Strain)
OUT — Frank Kaminsky (Separated AC Joint)
DEN:
OUT — Kenneth Faried (Back Spasms)
Biggest Story:
Stopping Jokic
Nikola Jokic is the heart and soul of the youthful Denver Nuggets and since the turn of the new year, he has been a model of efficiency. According to ESPN’s Micah Adams, Jokic’s Player Efficiency Rating is highest of any player in the second third of the NBA season.
Jokic posted a 31.4 PER during that span, for some perspective, the season-leader in PER — Russell Westbrook — currently has a 29.9 PER for the entire year.
So yeah, this Jokic guy is well on his way to becoming a household name and as I mentioned before he has put up back-to-back triple-doubles in his two most recent games. Charlotte’s roster doesn’t hold one obvious piece that can stop Jokic’s versatility, meaning team defense will be crucial to the Hornets gameplan.
Matchup to Watch:
Charlotte’s Frontcourt vs Nikola Jokic
To call the Hornets thin in the frontcourt right now would be an understatement. Injuries to Miles Plumlee and the surging Frank Kaminsky, have left the Hornets with Christian Wood, Marvin Williams, and Cody Zeller. The latter having just come off of a concussion and groin injury.
Next: Frank Kaminsky Could Miss the Rest of the Season
Charlotte’s group of forwards will be tasked with stopping one of the best young big men in the league, and they might as well be a triage unit. Meanwhile, Jokic has been on a tear recently, averaging 16.5 points, 6.5 assists, and 12.9 rebounds over his last ten games. Look for the Hornets to confuse Jokic by switching defensive matchups on him. Zeller should also see another uptick in minutes as he works his way back from that groin injury.