Charlotte Hornets look to defend home court against the visiting Denver Nuggets

The Charlotte Hornets looks to defend their home court once again as Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets come into town Wednesday night.

After a close loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Charlotte Hornets (1-2) look to rebound at home against the Denver Nuggets (1-2). Injuries still plague the Hornets, as Nicolas Batum, Michael Carter-Williams, and Julyan Stone will all be absent from gameplay. Cody Zeller is undecided while  Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will return and start but only see limited minutes.

The Nuggets may be down Darrell Arthur and Juan Hernangomez, who both are suffering from an undisclosed illness. While Arthur was officially active Monday night against the Wizards, he did not play, so he may still be feeling the effects of his sickness.

Denver Nuggets @ Charlotte Hornets

Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017, • 7:00 PM ET

Spectrum Center • Charlotte, NC

Local: ALT, FSSE-CHA

Radio: KKSE 950AM, 610 AM The Fan

Key Match-ups:

The Dwight Howard and Nikola Jokic low post battle will certainly be intriguing. Howard brings a traditional style to the block, whereas Jokic is a unique player whose unconventional playstyle makes him a match-up nightmare.

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Through 3 games, Jokic has averaged 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 6.7 assists. His scoring has wildly fluctuated in those three games though, going from 7 to 0 to 29 points. It will be interesting to see how far Jokic draws Howard out of the paint; something that could be essential to determining the outcome of this game.

Gary Harris and Jeremy Lamb figure to make an intriguing match-up on the wing as well. Through three games, Lamb has been a consistent scoring presence. He’s scored 15, 15, and 17 against Stanley Johnson, Kent Bazemore, and Tony Snell, a solid palette of defenders.

Harris has been a bit more inconsistent, scoring only two points against Washington. However, he will make it tough for Lamb to score. These two will battle all night long, whoever wins could swing the game in their team’s direction.

What to Watch For:

• Turnovers. Both the Hornets and Nuggets rank in the bottom third of the league in TOV%. For Charlotte, this is mostly a result of too many Dwight Howard post-ups and correspondingly lazy post entry passes. If they can revert back to last year’s ways, their odds of winning this game should improve drastically.
• Frank Kaminsky at the 5. In the two games, Cody Zeller has been injured, Frank Kaminsky has feasted as the backup center. If Zeller returns, watch to see if Kaminsky can continue his hot streak at the 4. If not, Steve Clifford will have a hard time juggling an already crowded center rotation.
• Kemba Walker. Both Emmanuel Mudiay and Jamal Murray are young point guards. While they’re okay on the defensive end, Kemba can use his experience to his advantage and outfox the young guards for a big scoring night.

Keys to Victory

New acquisition for the Nuggets, Paul Millsap, and Nikola Jokic make up one of the most versatile fronts in the NBA. It won’t be possible to truly shut them down, but slowing them down will be a must if the Hornets want to win.

Next: Storylines to pay attention to this season

On the offensive end, Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb need to continue their solid production. If Howard can get Jokic in foul trouble early, his impact will be limited. Both teams will fight hard though, as they are battling to return to .500.