Charlotte Hornets look to even their record vs Clippers

 The Charlotte Hornets managed to snap a two-game losing streak on Sunday vs Phoenix. To get back to .500, they’ll need to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers.

I could very easily be writing about how the Charlotte Hornets (19-20) are in the midst of a three-game losing streak. They narrowly avoided that, however, just getting past the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night. They didn’t play their best, only shooting 28% from deep while allowing Phoenix to shoot 51% from the field.

Alas, they were victorious and now must move on the glamorous city of L.A. to take on the Los Angeles Clippers (23-16). It’ll be a daunting task, though, as they sport one of the better home records in the league, at 13-6. Of course, we all know of Charlotte’s troubles on the road, only just now securing their 5th win away from home.

As mentioned earlier, Charlotte’s last game was a 119-114 win over the Phoenix Suns. They are clinging to the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference. The Clippers last contest was a 106-96 win over the Orlando Magic. They are 4th in the Western Conference. This is the first of two in which these teams will face off.

Charlotte Hornets at L.A. Clippers
10:30 p.m. EST, Tuesday, January 8th, 2019
Staples Center
Fox Sports Southeast

Injury Report:

CHA:

Jeremy Lamb – Hamstring (Questionable)

Cody Zeller – Hand (Out)

LAC:

Luc Mbah a Moute – Knee (Out)

Things to watch for:

This is going to be a tough one for the East Coast Hornets fans. That 10:30 tip off time is not ideal for us. In fact, even after this one, they still have two games that start around 10:00 PM ET.

If the Hornets can keep up, this could be a high scoring affair as the Clippers are 4th in the NBA in scoring, 7th in field goal percentage, and 4th in three-point field goal percentage. Throw in the fact that they have five guys scoring in double figures and it’s not looking good for a Hornets squad whose defense has been very suspect lately. Still, you can always catch a team on a bad night.

This will also be their first match-up against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. If you remember, he is the player the Hornets actually took with the 11th pick in June, only to trade him for Miles Bridges, who was taken with the next pick.

Keys to the game:

You would think losing a player like DeAndre Jordan would really affect a team’s rebounding, but L.A. hasn’t suffered much on the glass this season. They rank 12th in the Association in rebounds per game, which is actually better than the 15th spot in which they finished last year.

Needless to say, Charlotte is going to have to play at their best. Something else fans might not want to see is that the Clippers rank 1st in the league in personal fouls drawn, meaning, you guessed it, they attempt the most free-throws as well.

Not coincidentally, they also make the most as well. Fortunately, Charlotte gives up the 4th fewest fouls in the league, so there’s a little silver lining. The Hornets will have to try and play physical without fouling, meaning they need to stay in front of their man and not give up silly fouls.

Charlotte certainly has their work cut out for them in this one. The Clippers don’t really have any glaring weaknesses, but any team can be beaten on any given night. If they can execute on offense and play defense without fouling, they’ll have a shot. If you can stay up for this one, cheer them on the best you can. We’ll see if they can get back to .500 late Tuesday night in Los Angeles.