Charlotte Hornets hope to get back on track against the Washington Wizards

The Charlotte Hornets have lost seven of their last ten. Before heading out for a three-game road trip, they’ll have one more at home.

It can be frustrating to be a Charlotte Hornets (9-16) fan. Whether you want them to tank or to try and win games, they’re not doing a good job with either of those scenarios. They’re good enough to beat some teams but bad enough to lose to teams they shouldn’t.

One of those teams was supposed to be the Washington Wizards (7-15), but they did just enough to beat Charlotte in Washington back on November 22nd, proving that maybe Charlotte was the inferior team. In any case, the Hornets will get a rematch on Tuesday night at home. It’s the last game of a five-game homestand, of which they’ve only won a single game.

Immediately after this one, the Hornets will embark on a three-game road trip that will see them facing some formidable foes. It would be best if the Hornets can leave the Queen City on the correct note, but if they keep up their current level of play, that might not happen.

Charlotte’s last game was a 122-107 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. The Hornets are in the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference. The Wizards’ last game was a 135-119 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. They are half a game back of the Hornets in the 12th position. This is the second meeting out of four this season.

Charlotte Hornets vs Washington Wizards
7:00 p.m. EST, Tuesday, December 10th, 2019
Spectrum Center
Fox Sports Southeast

Stream: Fubo.tv

Injury Report:

CHA:

Marvin Williams – Knee (Doubtful)

P.J. Washington – Ankle (Probable)

WAS:

Isaiah Thomas – Calf (Out)

C.J. Miles – Wrist (Out)

Jordan McRae – Finger (Out)

Thomas Byrant – Foot (Out)

John Wall – Achillies (Out)

Things to watch for:

That’s quite a few injuries for the Wizards. It’s unfortunate for them, of course, but with some injuries of their own, it should make it a little easier. They’ll still have Bradley Beal to contend with, and he went off for 30 the last time these two teams met. Obviously, the Hornets don’t want that to happen again.

Charlotte allowed the Wizards to score more than 30 points in a quarter twice in their last matchup. Much has been made about the Hornets’ defense or lack thereof. You can’t have that happen and expect to win many games.

Keys to the game:

Washington is one of the better shooting teams in the league, and it showed in the last meeting, with the Wizards shooting just under 53%. Charlotte held their own, however, shooting just under 52%. The problem came from the free-throw line, where Washington shot 12 more free-throws than Charlotte. The Hornets need to do a better job of getting to the line and converting at the line. The Wizards made seven more shots at the charity stripe and consequently won by 7, so the Hornets also need to be more disciplined on the defensive end.

This could be another high scoring affair as these two teams are both at the bottom of the league in opponent field goal percentage, with the Wizards being dead last and Charlotte two spots up. That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise for Hornets fans, but it’s what is costing them so many games. They’ll need to do a better job of contesting shots and bothering shooters.

This team is an enigma right now, with few knowing what they’re going to see on the court on a daily basis. Things could easily go from bad to worse with a tough set of games coming up. Tuesday night in the Spectrum Center could be a blast or a punch to the gut.  Either way, they’ve got to figure something out.