At the start of a tough four-game road trip, the Charlotte Hornets face the dubious task of taking down LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Well, it’s time to face LeBron James again. The Charlotte Hornets (1-1) haven’t done so well against him over the years. They are now 7-45 against him in his career, which surely has to be the worst any team has fared against the King in his career.
So, it’d be easy to assume this is an automatic win for the Los Angeles Lakers (1-1), but any given night, right? Sure, it might be over three years since the Hornets have beaten a team featuring LeBron, but at some point, something’s got to give, and this one might just be the one.
Charlotte’s last game was a 121-99 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. They are tied for 6th in the Eastern Conference. The Lakers’ previous outing was a 95-86 win over the Utah Jazz. They are tied for 6th in the West. This is the first of two against L.A.
Charlotte Hornets at Los Angeles Lakers
9:30 p.m. EST, Sunday, October 27th, 2019
Staples Center
Fox Sports Southeast
Stream: Fubo.tv
Injury Report:
CHA:
Nicolas Batum – Finger (Out)
LAL:
Kyle Kuzma – Ankle (Game-Time Decision)
Rajon Rondo – Calf (Game-Time Decision)
Talen Horton-Tucker – Foot (Out)
DeMarcus Cousins – Knee (Out)
Things to watch for:
If Kuzma and Rondo can’t play, that would at least make it a little easier for Charlotte, but it’s never good to have any players injured, regardless of the team. There is still James and Anthony Davis to contend with, however, so the Hornets still have their work cut out for them.
Devonte’ Graham is the team’s leading scorer through the first two games. I wonder how many people saw that coming before the season started. It’d be really nice if he could keep up his level of play, especially from behind the three-point line. He’ll most likely settle back down, but it’s good to see what he’s capable of.
Keys to the game:
In a somewhat surprising stat, the Lakers are only shooting 41% from the field, good for just 22nd in the league. Granted, two games is a small sample size, so that will eventually change, but Charlotte needs to make sure that it doesn’t happen against them. Don’t sag off shooters, especially if Danny Green is behind the arc.
In contrast, the Charlotte Hornets are shooting almost 48%, good enough for 4th in the NBA. Let’s hope that trend does continue. Take quality shots, make the extra pass to find open looks, and set screens and drive to the basket.
This going to be a real test for this young team, and it all starts with the man who has simply dominated them throughout his career. If Charlotte can sneak out of this one with a win, it’ll be just the 8th time they’ve beaten LeBron. We’ll see if they can take him down Sunday night in Los Angeles.