Game Preview: Charlotte Hornets to take on the Memphis Grizzlies

The Charlotte Hornets are in the midst of a three-game losing streak. Can they snap that against the Memphis Grizzlies?

There isn’t a lot of good news right now for fans of the Charlotte Hornets (4-6). They’ve lost three in a row after going above .500 earlier in the month, and most of that is due to playing sloppy basketball on both ends of the court.

It might get a little better, though, when the Memphis Grizzlies (3-7) visit the Spectrum Center Wednesday night. You see, Charlotte has won five straight over Memphis dating back to the 2016-2017 season. Sure, they only play twice a year, but you’ve got to find some sort of silver lining.

In fact, the Grizzlies are just one of a handful of teams that the Hornets have an overall winning record against, going 24-17 over the years. History is certainly on the Hornets’ side, so let’s see if that pattern can continue.

Charlotte’s last game was a 114-106 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. They are currently 9th in the Eastern Conference. Memphis’ last contest was a 113-109 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. They are 13th in the West. This is the first of two meetings between these teams.

Charlotte Hornets vs Memphis Grizzlies
7:00 p.m. EST, Wednesday, November 13th, 2019
Spectrum Center
Fox Sports Southeast

Stream: Fubo.tv

Injury Report:

CHA:

Nicolas Batum – Finger (Out)

MEM:

Grayson Allen – Ankle (Questionable)

Things to watch for:

Devonte’ Graham comes into this game with two straight double-doubles. The second-year player has performed well above everyone’s expectations, so perhaps he can make it three straight. If so, that would definitely help solidify a case for moving to the starting point guard position.

This will be the first time the Hornets face off against the number 2 overall pick, Ja Morant. He’s playing well this season, averaging almost 18 points a game on 46% shooting. Here’s hoping Charlotte can keep him in check.

Keys to the game:

Memphis opponents take the 4th most free-throws in the NBA, with the other team shooting almost 28 from the charity stripe per contest. Whereas Hornets opponents only shoot 19 free-throws per game, 2nd fewest in the league. Charlotte needs to attack the basket to draw contact and get to the line as much as they can. Of course, they do have to make those shots, and with Charlotte having the 3rd lowest free-throw percentage, that might be difficult to do.

As always, take care of the basketball. That’s been an issue lately. Sure, this is a young team, but turnovers have killed the Hornets this season. They allow 18 a game, which is the 4th most in the league. There’s not really a solid solution, but making crisp passes and handling the ball well would certainly help.

On paper, it would appear that these two teams are somewhat evenly matched. The Hornets do have home-court advantage, however, so perhaps that’s enough to give them the edge. We’ll see if they can snap their losing streak Wednesday evening in the Queen City.