Charlotte Hornets seek much-needed road win against LeBron and the Cavaliers

After winning three straight, there is much optimism in Charlotte right now. The Hornets are feeling great, but they face a Cavaliers team that has beaten them seven straight times. Can they keep the streak alive against LeBron James and crew?

There is some good news and there’s some bad news regarding the Charlotte Hornets (8-9). The good news? They’re on a three-game winning streak and playing much better as of late. The bad news? They’re 1-7 on the road… and they play the Cleveland Cavaliers (11-7) in Cleveland on Friday night. It’s fair to say the Hornets haven’t had much success against the Cavaliers over the past few years, Worse yet is the fact that Cleveland is on a winning streak of their own, having won their last six. Quite the uphill battle for the Hornets, wouldn’t you say?

I don’t mean to sound pessimistic, of course. I firmly believe that the Hornets can beat anyone on any given night. Still, they’ll have a tough go of it against a team that has beaten them 11 times out of the last 12. Possibly not having Nicolas Batum will surely make things even harder.

The Hornets are coming off a 129-124 overtime win against the Washington Wizards. They are currently tied for 9th in the East. The Cavs are red hot coming off a 119-109 win against the Brooklyn Nets. They are fourth in the East.

Charlotte Hornets at Cleveland Cavaliers

8:00 p.m. EST, Friday, November 24th, 2017

Quicken Loans Arena

Broadcast on Fox Sports Southeast

Injury Report:

CHA:

Julyan Stone – Hamstring (Out)

Nicolas Batum – Elbow (OUT)

CLE:

Derrick Rose – Ankle – (Questionable

Isaiah Thomas – Hip (Out)

Tristan Thompson – Calf (Out)

Iman Shumpert – Knee (Questionable)

Things to keep an eye on:

In their first game against the Cavs, the Hornets only shot 23% from behind the arc. It’ll be interesting to see if they can improve upon that. Dwight Howard only scored eight points and five rebounds against the Cavs in their last game. With the way he’s been playing as of late, he’ll surely be more of a force in this game.

Keys to the game:

It’s safe to say that you’re not going to stop LeBron, especially if you’re the Hornets. Despite the loss, the Hornets actually played well, until the end, of course. Dwight will need to be more of a presence if the Hornets look to win this game. Five rebounds from a guy averaging just under 13 is not likely to happen again. Jeremy Lamb will also need to keep his stellar play up if Nic Batum can’t suit up.

Next: Should Hornets fans have tempered expectations?

Recent history isn’t exactly on the Hornets’ side, but tides inevitably turn. Perhaps the Hornets can finally improve upon their meager road record on Friday night.

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