The Charlotte Hornets look to finish this week’s road trip with a victory against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks.
The Charlotte Hornets (23-24) will take on the Milwaukee Bucks (34-12) on Friday night for a chance to slide back into a .500 winning percentage and stay afloat in the crowded Eastern Conference playoff race.
With the All-Star break approaching, the Hornets look at this stretch as a chance to climb the ladder that is seeded 6-11 right now.
These teams lasted played on November 26th, it was a home game for the Hornets with the same chance to get to (.500). Giannis Antetokounmpo only scored 20 points while Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb scored 21 points a piece.
The same kind of production will be needed Friday night from the Hornet’s back court, including Tony Parker. Parker’s basketball IQ and clutch gene has been huge for the Charlotte Hornets so far. He scored 17 points against Memphis on Wednesday.
Charlotte Hornets at Milwaukee Bucks
8:30 p.m. EST, Friday, January 25th, 2019
Fiserv Forum
Fox Sports Southeast
Injury Report:
CHA:
Cody Zeller – Hand (Out)
MIL:
None
Things to watch for:
Kemba Walker vs Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The NBA announced that Kemba Walker will be a starter in this year’s All Star game held at the Spectrum Center on Sunday, February 17, 2019. This is his third consecutive All-Star appearance.
Antetokounmpo led the East in voting and will be a captain to represent the conference. LeBron James is the West’s captain and the selections from both captains will be aired on TNT February 7, 2019.
This game is not only a chance for the Hornets to get to .500, they can send a message to the rest of the East with a win against a contender for MVP and his number one seed team. It’s going to be a tough task for the Charlotte Hornets, as the Bucks lead the East in points per game at 117.6 PPG.
Keys to the game:
Understanding the fact there are 10 games before the All Star break (counting this one) should give Charlotte some motivation to finish strong before hosting the All Star Weekend.
With this in mind, Hornets fans are going to be gearing for the win. If they can hold Antetokounmpo to 20 points again there’s a much better chance the Hornets can operate a conduct offense to win.
While the Hornets may not seem like much to the Milwaukee crowd Friday night, expect Kemba Walker to put on a prime time performance for everyone to see after being named an All-Star starter yesterday.
The Charlotte Hornets will take on the Milwaukee Bucks again on March 9th, which will again be in Milwaukee.