After a thrilling last-second victory over the Detroit Pistons, the Charlotte Hornets head north to face the New York Knicks.
Congratulations to Malik Monk for his first career buzzer-beater for the Charlotte Hornets. Just as it looked like the game was going into overtime, the third-year guard out of Kentucky sunk a heavily-guarded three off the inbounds pass and it somehow went in.
The Charlotte Hornets (5-7) don’t have much time to celebrate, however, as they now must travel to New York to take on the Knicks (3-9) in the second of another back-to-back. It’s also the start of a four-game East Coast road-stint that will see them play against some of the lower-tier teams in the East, while also facing off against the defending NBA Champions.
Hopefully that buzzer-beater will give them the spark they need to come out ahead on this road trip because some of these games are very winnable if they can play at their best. Road games are rarely easy, especially when you have four over the course of six days, but if they even just split the trip, most would be happy with that result.
Charlotte’s last game was a 109-106 victory over the Detroit Pistons. They are currently 7th in the Eastern Conference. New York’s last contest was a 106-103 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. They are 14th in the East. This is the first of four games against New York for the Hornets.
Charlotte Hornets at New York Knicks
7:30 p.m. EST, Saturday, November 16th, 2019
Madison Square Garden
Fox Sports Southeast
Stream: Fubo.tv
Injury Report:
CHA:
Nicolas Batum – Finger (Questionable)
Dwayne Bacon – Knee (Questionable)
NYK:
Kadeem Allen – Knee (Questionable)
RJ Barrett – Quad (Probable)
Reggie Bullock – Back (Out)
Frank Ntilikina – Groin (Probable)
Elfrid Payton – Hamstring (Out)
Things to watch for:
That’s quite a few injuries for New York and would partially explain their struggles this season. It would potentially make things easier on Charlotte, but it would be more fun if both teams could sport their full rosters. Alas, injuries are a sad part of sports, so every team must deal with them.
Over the last three seasons, at least one game in the season series has gone to overtime. Given that Charlotte played yesterday, if that happens in this one, fatigue will definitely come into play. Here’s hoping they come out with their foot on the gas and put this one away early.
Keys to the game:
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but the Knicks are at or near the bottom of the league in most offensive categories. They do rank in the top 10 in free-throw attempts per game, but the caveat here is that they have the lowest free-throw percentage in the NBA. Charlotte isn’t that far behind them, so it would still be a good idea not to commit silly fouls.
Interestingly enough, the Knicks commit the 4th most fouls per game in the league, so this one might end up being a bit ugly if trends continue. Charlotte needs to attack the basket, hoping to draw fouls, but they absolutely must make their free-throws.
This road trip will be quite the test for the guys in purple and teal, but it’s one they can potentially come out successful. We’ll see if they can leave New York with a dub Saturday night.