Charlotte Hornets look for their third straight win as they host the Milwaukee Bucks

Steve Clifford’s side is looking to continue their strong play as they host The Greek Freak and the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Charlotte Hornets are now 4-3 and have won their last two games in a row and will look to make it three against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Hornets defeated one of the better offensive (Orlando Magic) and defensive (Memphis Grizzlies) teams to this point during that stretch. Charlotte will face-off once again against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks tonight, but this time the Hornets have home court.

The first game against Milwaukee was a hard fought game that could have easily gone in the favor of the Charlotte Hornets with a 94-94 score with 2 minutes left in the game, but Milwaukee made some shots at the end and Charlotte just missed some. During that first meeting, the Hornets were without both Cody Zeller and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Zeller and Kidd-Gilchrist are healthy and playing this time around.

Milwaukee is coming to Charlotte in the second game of a back to back after losing to Oklahoma City Thunder. The Bucks are now tied with the Hornets with an identical 4-3 record and both are tied for the sixth spot in east alongside the Indiana Pacers. Malcolm Brogdon missed the first game against the Hornets but will play tonight in Charlotte.

Injuries

Charlotte:

Julyan Stone (Hamstring)

Nicolas Batum (Elbow)

Milwaukee:

Greg Monroe (Calf)

Jabari Parker (Knee)

Keys for Charlotte

Rebounding

Charlotte can exploit Milwaukee’s most glaring weakness by crashing the glass, not allowing second-chance opportunities while getting some of their own. The Hornets are the best in the league in defensive rebounds with 41.9 while the Bucks are 25th with just 32.3 and are the worst in the league in offensive rebounds.

Dwight Howard had an NBA season-high 22 rebounds against the Bucks the first time out and seven of those where offensive. Without Greg Monroe, who has averaged five rebounds in just under 16 minutes of play, the bucks already weak frontline is gonna have a tough time keeping the Hornets players off the glass.

Free Throws/Defending without Fouling

The Hornets are fourth in the league in opponent free throw attempts with 18.4 and sixth in personal fouls with 18.6. The Bucks are 24th in free throw attempts with 25.4 and 25th in personal fouls 22.6.

In their first meeting, the Hornets shot 20 more free throws than the Bucks but made just seven more than they did. Dwight Howard missed all 9 of his attempts from the charity stripe in that game. He has made just 35.7% of his free throws this season that’s 18% worse than what he shot last season. Charlotte will have the option to put in Zeller (who has made all of his free throws so far this season) if Dwight’s free throws are limiting what the Hornets can do offensively.

Keeping the Other Guys in Check

Giannis Antetokounmpo is gonna get his 25-35 there isn’t much anyone can do to stop that but what Charlotte can do is limit what everyone else does.

In the previous matchup, Mirza Teletovic went five for nine from deep. Charlotte can’t allow the perimeter players for the Bucks to get hot like that or they will be in for a rough night.

Next: Charlotte Hornets' keys to 45 wins

Charlottes Back-Court

Over the last four games, Jeremy Lamb has averaged 18.3 points per game on 54% from the field and a ridiculous 69% from three. Over that same stretch, Kemba Walker has put up 26.5 points per game on 47.9% from the field and 40.9% from three. The Hornets went 3-1 during that those four games. If those two keep shooting scoring like that they are gonna really tough to beat.

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Charlotte Hornets look for their third straight win as they take on the Milwaukee Bucks

By George Wilson | Nov 1, 2017