Charlotte Hornets head North to battle Siakam, defending champs

After a thrilling win over New York, the Charlotte Hornets must prepare for an MVP candidate in Pascal Siakam and the rest of the Toronto Raptors.

We shouted out Malik Monk in our last Game Preview for his game-winning shot over Detroit, but now it’s time to give Devonte’ Graham a shout out for his clutch bucket in New York. It’s been an exciting last three games for the Charlotte Hornets, with each game coming down to the final buzzer.

While the close, drama-filled games are always fun, the hope is that the Charlotte Hornets (6-7) can put together a full 48 minute effort against one of the tougher teams in the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors (8-4).

The last time Charlotte played in Toronto, they pulled off an upset thanks to Jeremy Lamb‘s half-court fling with the game on the line. He won’t be there to bail the Hornets out this time, so let’s hope we can get a full team effort from these guys tonight.

Charlotte’s last game was a 103-102 victory over New York. They are currently 7th in the Eastern Conference. Toronto’s last game was a 110-102 loss over Dallas. They are currently 4th in the Eastern Conference.

Charlotte Hornets at Toronto Raptors
7:30 p.m. EST, Monday, November 18th, 2019
Scotiabank Arena
Fox Sports Southeast

Stream: Fubo.tv

Injury Report:

CHA: 

None

TOR:

OG Anunoby – Eye (Questionable)

Serge Ibaka – Ankle (Out)

Kyle Lowry – Thumb (Out)

Patrick McCaw – Knee (Out)

Things to watch for:

Pascal Siakam has played hit butt off for Toronto in the early stages of the season, but is coming off his worst performance against Dallas, where he shot an incredibly inefficient 6-24 from the floor. You know he’s going to want to come out in front of the home crowd and have a much better showing against a poor defensive team in Charlotte.

Dwayne Bacon was available to play in Charlotte’s last game, but picked up a DNP-CD. I’m sure that the Hornets are just being careful with the health of Bacon, but it’s going to be interesting to see if he plays and starts. Devonte’ Graham has been balling whether he starts or comes off the bench and will continue to eat into Bacon’s playing time.

Keys to the game:

The Raptors rank right in the middle of the league when it comes to offensive rating, and with them missing some key players, the Hornets need to be sure to do the best they can on Pascal Siakam and Fred Van Vleet. Outside of those two, they don’t generate a ton of offense. Let the supporting cast beat you.

Charlotte has fallen behind by double-digits in every game so far this season. I think it will be important to come out and hit Toronto with a punch early on. They’re a good defensive unit, so once they have you down, it may be tough for the Hornets to get back into it.

The Charlotte Hornets are looking to make it three straight wins, but this will be a difficult challenge for them. Can the Hornets continue to surprise people around the league and knock off the defending NBA Champions?