The Charlotte Hornets may very well be out of the playoff hunt, but they still have games to play. Next is a similarly struggling New Orleans Pelicans team.
I think it’s safe to say that the Charlotte Hornets’ (35-42) 30th season has been a disappointing one.
The team is just 8-12 since the All-Star break, but they were already 3 games below .500 at that point. They spent much of the year in the playoff hunt, but may now be permanently on the outside looking in.
Add to that the uncertainty of three-time All-Star Kemba Walker‘s future and this season has been a punch in the gut for fans, as well as the players.
There are still five games left to play, however, and the next one seems winnable, but we’ve said that numerous times before. Charlotte will head into the Big Easy to take on the New Orleans Pelicans (32-46), who, like the Hornets, have had their fair share of disappointments and unanswered questions regarding their best player.
These two teams have already met once this season, with New Orleans taking the game in Charlotte, 119-109.
In fact, that was the Pelicans’ fifth straight win over the Hornets, dating back to November of 2016. It sure would be nice to avoid getting swept for the third straight year.
Charlotte’s last game was a 102-111 loss to the Utah Jazz. They are currently in the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference. New Orleans’ last contest was a 102-130 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. They are 12th in the West. This is the final time these two teams will face each other this season.
Charlotte Hornets at New Orleans Pelicans
8:00 p.m. EST, Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019
Smoothie King Center
Fox Sports Southeast
Stream: Fubo.tv
Injury Report:
CHA:
Cody Zeller – Knee (Out)
Marvin Williams – Foot (Doubtful)
Jeremy Lamb – Ankle (Probable)
NOL:
Frank Jackson – Concussion (Out)
Anthony Davis – Back (Game-Time Decision)
Trevon Bluiett – Thumb (Game-Time Decision)
E’Twaun Moore – Quadriceps (Out)
Darius Miller – Hip (Out)
Jrue Holiday – Abdomen (Out)
Things to watch for:
That’s a lot of injuries, especially for New Orleans. Those will certainly play a role in this one. The biggest question, of course, is whether or not Anthony Davis will play. With the playoffs out of reach for the Pelicans, they may just decide to sit their superstar for the remainder of the season.
Kemba Walker struggled badly in their last game against the Pelicans, shooting just 5-16 and 0-6 from three. Let’s hope he comes out on fire.
Keys to the game:
Despite their rather paltry record, the Pelicans are actually an efficient shooting team, ranking 6th in the NBA in field-goal percentage.
Charlotte needs to keep a hand in every shooter’s face, play physical defense down low, and make sure to avoid leaving shooters open on the perimeter. Their defense has been mediocre to outright bad as of late, causing them to fall all the way down to the 24th spot in opponent field-goal percentage, allowing teams to shoot 47% from the floor.
That’s not going to win you a lot of games.
It’s hard to continue pulling for a team that is essentially out of the playoff race, but depending on what happens in the off-season, these last few games may be the last times we see some of these players in a Hornets uniform.
The players still want to win and they need the fans to support them. Here’s hoping Charlotte can end this losing skid Wednesday night in New Orleans.