Before returning home, the Charlotte Hornets have one more game on their four-game road trip. Can they head back to the Queen City with a win?
This road trip hasn’t exactly gone according to plan for the Charlotte Hornets (6-9). After narrowly defeating the New York Knicks, they suffered their worst loss of the season at the hand of the Toronto Raptors and then lost to the banged-up Brooklyn Nets.
There is still one game left on this trip and it’s against the Washington Wizards (4-8). This will be the perfect opportunity for the Hornets to get back on track as the Wizards are obviously one of the bottom tier teams in the Eastern Conference. Then again, it’s not like they haven’t lost to inferior teams before, especially on the road. Hopefully, they can avoid that this time as a win would help keep them afloat with other playoff teams.
As mentioned before, the Hornets’ last game was a 101-91 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. They are currently at the 9th spot in the Eastern Conference. Washington’s last game was a 138-132 win over the San Antonio Spurs. They are 11th in the East. This is the first of four meetings between these two teams.
Charlotte Hornets at Washington Wizards
7:00 p.m. EST, Friday, November 22nd, 2019
Capital One Arena
Fox Sports Southeast
Stream: Fubo.tv
Injury Report:
CHA:
None
WAS:
Ian Mahinmi – Achillies (Out)
John Wall – Achillies (Out)
Things to watch for:
Bradley Beal is having a career year so far, averaging just over 30 points and is dishing out a career-high 6.7 assists. Everyone knew he’d be the focal point of their offense this year given John Wall’s injury, but that doesn’t mean it will be any easier keeping him in check. Charlotte will certainly have a hard time making sure he doesn’t do too much damage.
Then again, it’s not like Washington doesn’t have other players who can hurt you. Other than Beal, they have five other players averaging 12 or more points a game. Fans are certainly aware of Charlotte’s defensive woes, so if they don’t play it tight, this could get away from them.
Keys to the game:
Defense is a must for the Hornets in this one, especially on the perimeter. Washington ranks 2nd in the NBA in field goal percentage and 6th in three-point field goal percentage. This would go a long way in showing why they are the highest-scoring team in the league, scoring just under 120 points a game. Charlotte’s defense has been next to non-existent at times this year and they can ill afford to have it be that way in this one.
So, where do the Wizards’ struggles come from? Well, they’re not exactly defensive masterminds either, giving up the most points per game in the NBA. If Charlotte can run their offense efficiently by setting good screens and finding open shooters, they’ll have an easier time. If they can’t, then they have to hope that Washington goes cold.
The Hornets and Wizards have had a bit of a rivalry over the past few seasons, but Charlotte has won the season series two straight times. They have a good shot at doing that again. Here’s hoping they can leave the nation’s capital with a win.