Charlotte Hornets hope to split season series against Minnesota Timberwolves

After losing two straight, the Charlotte Hornets are now three games back of the final playoff spot. Can they climb back up with a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves?

It’s a bit difficult right now if you’re a Charlotte Hornets (31-39) fan. Between not knowing if you want the team to keep trying to make a playoff push or if they should tank to get a better draft pick, there’s definitely some cognitive dissonance going on in Hornets fandom. Add to that the uncertain future of All-Star guard Kemba Walker and the team’s dire financial situation, and you have a fanbase that is feeling drained and empty.

It’s imperative, though, that the fans remain faithful and supportive because the players and coaches are certainly not happy about this situation as well. With 12 games left, the team could use as much positivity as they can get from the community.

The next of those 12 games is a home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves (32-39). Minnesota won the first game back in Minneapolis back on December 5th. It wasn’t pretty, either, as Charlotte allowed Minnesota to shoot 54% from the floor, including 50% from deep. Scoring just 40 points in the second half didn’t help things either, as the Hornets shot just 41% for the entire game.

Charlotte’s last game was a 114-118 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. They are currently at the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference. Minnesota’s last contest was a 107-117 loss to the Golden State Warriors. They are 10th in the West. This is the final game against the Timberwolves.

Charlotte Hornets vs Minnesota Timberwolves
7:00 p.m. EST, Thursday, March 21st, 2019
Spectrum Center
Fox Sports Southeast

Stream: Fubo.tv

Injury Report:

CHA:

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – Concussion (Out)

Cody Zeller – Knee (Game-Time Decision)

MIN:

Robert Covington – Knee (Game-Time Decision)

Jeff Teague – Foot (Game-Time Decision)

Derrick Rose – Elbow (Game-Time Decision)

Luol Deng – Achilles (Game-Time Decision)

Taj Gibson – Calf (Game-Time Decision)

Things to watch for:

Minnesota has quite the slew of injuries. It’ll be interesting to see which of those players actually suit up for this game. Of course, Charlotte has a few key injuries of their own. Will they finally get Cody back into the lineup?

Kemba hasn’t exactly been himself lately. Over the past two games, he’s only made 12 of 34 from the floor, which is roughly 35%. Jeremy Lamb has shouldered the burden for those two games. Can our captain break out of his funk? We certainly hope so.

Keys to the game:

Both Charlotte and Minnesota are pretty good at not turning the ball over; both teams rank in the top 5 in the NBA in fewest turnovers per game. They combined for just 25 turnovers in the first game, so if Charlotte can force Minnesota to cough up the ball more than they usually do, that could create some nice fast-break scoring potential.

The Timberwolves snag the 3rd most offensive rebounds in the league. It’s no surprise when you have Karl Anthony-Towns on your roster. Oddly enough, the Hornets had 13 offensive boards compared to Minnesota’s 10 in their last contest, so establishing position under the rim and boxing out the T’Wolves bigs should be another point of emphasis.

With similar records and positioning in their respective conferences, this is a game the Hornets could win with proper home support. Given that they’re 4-9 since the All-Star break, it would be nice to see them be victorious again. This could shape up to be a fun one in the Spectrum Center.