The NBA season is in full stride at this point. A month in and there are a lot of teams with uncertainties. The Charlotte Hornets are just one of them. After a series of inexplicable losses, the team finally added to the win column. They’ll have to play their best if they want to notch another one against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Charlotte.
It’s been a while, but the Charlotte Hornets (6-9) finally won a game. I’m being a bit facetious, of course, but it feels good seeing the team play the way everyone knows they can. There’s still a ways to go, but getting off a losing streak is always a positive. A lot of times in sports, it’s about the little things. While one win after losing six straight might not sound like much, it can have positive effects on team morale and chemistry.
If the Hornets want to string together another win, they’ll have to dig deep against a Minnesota Timberwolves (10-6) team that easily handled them nearly two weeks ago in Minnesota. Charlotte lost that game 94-112. The game was actually fairly close, outside of the second quarter, when Minnesota scored 40 points compared to Charlotte’s 23.
Charlotte is fresh off a 102-87 win against the Clippers at home. They are in 12th place in the Eastern Conference. Minnesota is coming off a close 97-100 loss to the Pistons in Minneapolis. They are tied for second in the West. Minnesota is 1-0 against Charlotte this season.
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Charlotte Hornets vs Minnesota Timberwolves
7:00 p.m. EST, Monday, November 20th, 2017
Spectrum Center
Broadcast on Fox Sports Southeast
Injury Report:
CHA:
Treveon Graham – Quadriceps (Questionable)
Marvin Williams – Quadriceps (Questionable)
Jeremy Lamb – Hamstring (Questionable)
Julyan Stone – Hamstring (Out)
MIN:
Jamal Crawford – Migraine (Questionable)
Justin Patton – Foot (Out)
Things to keep an eye on:
There are several key things about the first game that stands out. Firstly, the free throw discrepancy. Charlotte shot just 11-21 from the charity stripe. Compare that to Minnesota’s 26-30 and you see part of why the Hornets lost. Oddly enough, it wasn’t Dwight Howard that was the problem as he only shot two free throws. Look for Charlotte to be more disciplined… hopefully. Another glaring stat is Kemba Walker‘s lack of well, anything. The All-Star guard only shot 4-15, including 0-5 from deep. You have to assume that won’t happen again. Lastly, look for Charlotte to be more aggressive on the boards. The Timberwolves outrebounded them by 14 last game.
Keys to the game:
As mentioned before, the Hornets will need to be smarter when defending. The Timberwolves have obviously shown that they can convert at the free throw line, so playing smarter defense is crucial. In fact, Minnesota is 7th in the NBA in free throw percentage. Charlotte? Dead last. Getting into a free throw war is obviously not in Charlotte’s best interests. Kemba will also need to have his A game. It’s not likely he’ll repeat the performance from last time these two met, but Minnesota is a tough, physical team.
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At this point in the season, stringing together two wins might not seem like much. Given the Hornets’ recent woes, however, that could be just the shot in the arm the team needs to get the ball rolling. It’s a game they can win, but they’ll need to play disciplined and be aggressive on the glass. Here’s hoping they do just that Monday night in the Spectrum Center.