Game Preview: Charlotte Hornets Seek Revenge Against the Chicago Bulls
It’s still early in the NBA season, but the Charlotte Hornets are behind the curve. Can they even it out against the Chicago Bulls at home?
Through the first five games, the Charlotte Hornets (2-3) have shown a lot promise at times this season, but have failed to maintain consistency. A pair of close losses and one blowout have marred their record thus far. Still, they’re not in a terrible spot just yet. The Hornets will, however, have to start stringing together wins to avoid being relegated to the proverbial cellar in the Eastern Conference.
Things can begin to turn around for this Charlotte team at home when they take on the Chicago Bulls (1-3). This is the same Bulls team who narrowly defeated the Hornets 112-110 in the United Center on Wednesday night. Charlotte had every chance to win, but a muffed inbounds pass sealed their fate with under ten in regulation.
Chicago Bulls at Charlotte Hornets
7:00 p.m. EST, Friday, October 26th, 2018
Spectrum Center
Fox Sports Southeast
Injury Report:
CHA:
None
CHI:
Bobby Portis – Knee (Out)
Kris Dunn – Knee (Out)
Denzel Valentine – Ankle (Out)
Lauri Markkanen – Elbow (Out)
Things to watch for:
One glaring stat about these two teams is their lack of rebounding the basketball. Charlotte ranks 25th in the NBA in rebounds per game. What is worse, is that the Bulls rank dead last in the Association. One reason for the Bulls’ lack of rebounding, is their field goal percentage in which they are 7th in the league; Charlotte, not so much, they currently rank 20th. Hopefully, the Hornets can correct those two categories. Also, the Bulls have a number of injuries as well. Hopefully, the Hornets can capitalize by wearing Chicago down with a fast-paced attack after a four-game road trip.
Keys to the game:
As mentioned before, the Hornets need to shoot better. If a team cannot rebound the basketball, they must make shots or else, they’re not going to have a chance to win. The Hornets must also look to play tighter defense since the Bulls can make shots at a relatively high percentage. If the game does come down to the wire as it did on Wednesday, something crucial for the team to avoid is turnovers in the clutch.
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Charlotte hasn’t had a lot of recent success against Chicago, having won only one out of their last seven games against them. This especially holds true when the Hornets are the visiting team, with their last win in Chicago coming from almost three years ago. It seems as if there’s something about the Bulls that confounds the Hornets. The Hornets must come out strong, so they can figure it out Friday night in the Spectrum Center against this young Bulls team.