Charlotte Hornets look to finish road stretch with a win against the Brooklyn Nets
With 11 games left in the season, it’s looking more and more like the Charlotte Hornets are not going to make the postseason. All may be lost according to fans, but the team still has to finish their season. Their next matchup will be against the Brooklyn Nets in Brooklyn.
It’s a bittersweet time for Charlotte Hornets (30-41) fans. The season is coming to an end and soon, we won’t get to watch the team play for several months. Then again, some fans would just as well have the season end today given how disappointing it’s been. I’m of the sort that will stick it out to the very end, no matter what, but I can’t fault others for how they feel.
Still, the season must go on and the next stop for the Hornets will be the Barclays Center where they’ll face off against the Brooklyn Nets (23-48). This will be the final game of a five-game road stint. The two teams have played each other twice this season, splitting the two games. This will be their third and final matchup this season.
Charlotte’s last game was a 94-108 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. They are 10th in the East. The Nets are coming off a 118-115 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. They are 13th in the East.
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Charlotte Hornets at Brooklyn Nets
7:30 p.m. EST, Wednesday, March 21st, 2018
Barclays Center
Fox Sports Southeast
Injury Report:
CHA:
Nicolas Batum – Achilles (Doubtful)
Michael Carter-Williams – Shoulder (Out)
Cody Zeller – Knee (Questionable)
BKN:
Dante Cunningham – Concussion (Game-time decision)
Jeremy Lin – Knee (Out)
Things to keep an eye on:
This will most likely be the second straight game the Hornets will be without Nic Batum. Compounding that with the loss of MCW will mean even more playing time for Malik Monk. He better hit his shots, though, because, in their last game against Brooklyn, he shot 1-6 from three. In fact, the whole team shot poorly from three, going 4-19 from deep.
Keys to the game:
As mentioned before, the Hornets shot poorly from three in their loss to the Nets. Shooting 21% is not going to win you many games, even against a team like the Nets. Meanwhile, Brooklyn shot 51% from the field as a whole. You can’t allow a team that is 29th in field goal percentage to shoot that well. Then again, this is the Hornets were talking about. So, defense and making open shots from deep will be paramount in this game if the Hornets want to win. It’s one they should win as well, but we all know how that goes.
Next: Re-picking the last five drafts for Charlotte
The season isn’t done and although the Hornets look to be out of the postseason for a second straight year, there’s still basketball to enjoy. Will Hornets fans be enjoying a win on Wednesday night? One must always believe.