After a beatdown by the Boston Celtics and a celebration for their former captain, the Charlotte Hornets look to bounce back against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Things didn’t exactly go according to plan for the Charlotte Hornets (4-4) in their last game. They honored their greatest player ever in his return and fans gave him a roaring ovation. Yet, the outcome of the game was less than desirable, to say the least.
Time must move on, though, and with yet another back-to-back coming up, the team must look for ways to avoid another blowout.
Speaking of blowouts, that’s all the Hornets have known this year, at least in their losses. In their four losses this season, they have been beaten by an average of just over 19 points a game.
Contrast that with their four wins where they’re only winning by an average of 4 points a game. It’s pretty safe to say that their record could be a lot worse.
They’ll look to improve that record against a struggling New Orleans Pelicans (1-7) team that will be on the second game of their own back-to-back. Things haven’t gone their way, either, as they hoped to at least have their vaunted number one pick, Zion Williamson, but alas, he injured his knee and probably won’t see action until the middle of December.
Charlotte’s last game was a 108-87 defeat at the hands of the Boston Celtics. They are tied for 6th in the Eastern Conference. New Orleans’ last contest was a 122-104 loss to the Toronto Raptors. They are last in the West. This is the first of two meetings between these teams.
Charlotte Hornets vs New Orleans Pelicans
7:00 p.m. EST, Saturday, November 9th, 2019
Spectrum Center
Fox Sports Southeast
Stream: Fubo.tv
Injury Report:
CHA:
Nicolas Batum – Finger (Out)
NOP:
Zion Williamson – Knee (Out)
Darius Miller – Achillies (Out)
Things to watch for:
Charlotte has never won the season series over the Pelicans. They’ve either split it or, as is the case most of the time, they outright lose it. They can rectify that this season as the Pelicans aren’t expected to be that competitive and with no Anthony Davis around anymore, it should be easier this year, at least until Zion comes back.
Every team is going to have off nights, but the Hornets were downright abysmal from behind the arc against the Celtics, making just 6 out of 31 total shots from deep. That was a bit uncharacteristic for a team that, so far, was one of the better three-point shooting teams. Perhaps they’re not adept as they seemed, but hopefully, they can at least improve upon their last game.
Keys to the game:
Something surprising about the Pelicans is that they’re actually pretty good from deep as well, ranking 5th in the league in three-point field goal percentage. They also attempt the 4th most in the NBA, so it would be a good idea to not leave their perimeter shooters open.
Something that might not be as surprising is that the Pelicans also lead the league in assists per game. It’s pretty apparent their offense is efficient and it has led them to have the 4th highest scoring output so far. So, what’s causing their struggles? Defense. They give up the most points per game in the NBA, which is something the Hornets must take advantage of because if they have another cold night, they could be leaving the Queen City with a loss.
New Orleans is a team Charlotte can and should defeat, but they’ll need a better output than what they had in their last game. Here’s hoping they can get back on the right track Saturday in Charlotte.