Charlotte Hornets closing out road trip vs San Antonio Spurs
The Charlotte Hornets haven’t fared well on their six-game road stint. Can they end it on a high note when they travel to San Antonio to take on the Spurs?
At this point, the Charlotte Hornets (19-23) have to be eager to get back to the comfortable confines of the Queen City.
Not only due to the fact that they’ve been away for nearly two weeks, but also because they’ve essentially been dominated by some of the better teams in the Western Conference. Going 1-4 so far with three of those losses coming by 10 points or more will make any team wish they could pack it up and head home.
Alas, there is still one game left on their road trip and that takes place Monday night against the San Antonio Spurs (25-19). It won’t be easy, however, as the Spurs are tied for the second most home wins in the NBA with 18 victories at home. It’ll be even tougher given Charlotte’s 5-15 road record, but anything can happen.
Charlotte’s last game was a 97-104 loss to the Sacramento Kings. They are clinging on to the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference. San Antonio’s last contest was a 112-122 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. They are 7th in the West. This is the first of two meetings between these teams.
Charlotte Hornets at San Antonio Spurs
8:30 p.m. EST, Monday, January 14th, 2019
AT&T Center
Fox Sports Southeast
Injury Report:
CHA:
Cody Zeller – Hand (Out)
SAS:
Rudy Gay – Wrist (Out)
Dejounte Murray – Knee (Out)
Things to watch for:
This is a pretty important game for the Hornets.
As of now, they are only a half game ahead of the Detroit Pistons for the 8th and final playoff spot. If Charlotte loses and Detroit wins their game Monday night, then the Hornets are on the outside looking in. There’s still plenty of time to climb back up if that happens, of course, but the Hornets’ recent play has raised some serious questions about whether the team is even a playoff caliber squad.
Also, this will be Tony Parker‘s first game back in San Antonio as a Charlotte Hornet. I’m sure he will be received well by the fans there.
Keys to the game:
Over this road trip, Charlotte has allowed teams to shoot an average of 39.6% from behind the arc. There’s a good chance that number could climb as San Antonio is the number one three-point shooting team in the NBA, making just over 40% from deep.
Overall, the Spurs have the 5th highest field goal percentage in the league. Charlotte’s already shaky defense will surely be tested yet again in this one. If they can somehow limit open looks and force San Antonio to take bad shots, they’ll have somewhat of a chance.
Keeping the Spurs off the charity stripe would be beneficial as well, given that the Spurs rank 2nd in the league in free-throw percentage.
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This road trip has been dreadful for the Hornets and I know the team, and their fans, are ready to put it behind them and get back home. There’s still work to do, however, and that means taking on a very formidable Spurs club. We’ll see if they can get it done Monday night in San Antonio.