Charlotte Hornets face a tough Toronto Raptors team at home

Before embarking on a tough West Coast road trip, the Charlotte Hornets will battle the Toronto Raptors in Charlotte.

The Charlotte Hornets (15-24) had a shot in their last game, but a pair of dreadful quarters doomed them. That’s been a fairly common theme this year and it may continue when they face their next opponent, the Toronto Raptors (24-13) at home.

These two teams met earlier in the season in Toronto back on November 18th. The Raptors won that game in easy fashion, 132-96. That was one of the worst losses of the season for Charlotte, allowing the Raptors to score 72 points in the second half.

That’s not likely to happen again, but if it does, it could be quite disastrous for Charlotte as they’ll immediately head out for a four-game West Coast road trip that will see them play some of the better teams in the Western Conference. It would not be good for Charlotte’s meager playoff hopes if they come back home after losing six straight.

Charlotte’s last game was a 115-104 loss to the Indiana Pacers. They are currently 9th in the Eastern Conference. Toronto’s last game was a 101-99 loss Portland TrailBlazers. They are at the 4th spot in the East. This is the second of four meetings between these two clubs.

 Charlotte Hornets vs Indiana Pacers
7:00 p.m. EST, Wednesday, January 8th, 2020
Spectrum Center
Fox Sports Southeast

Stream: Fubo.tv

Injury Report:

CHA:

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – Illness (Questionable)

Marvin Williams – Nose (Questionable)

TOR:

Fred VanVleet – Hamstring (Out)

Dewan Hernandez – Ankle (Out)

Norman Powell – Shoulder (Questionable)

Pascal Siakam – Groin (Out)

Marc Gasol – Hamstring (Out)

Things to watch for:

It seems the injury bug has bitten Toronto as well. What makes it even worse for them is that this is the second of a back-to-back. Charlotte hasn’t faced many teams in that scenario this year, so it’s nice for it to be the opposing team for once. This is the perfect chance for them to beat another contending team, but I also said that about the Pacers and we all know how that went down.

For the first time in a while, the Hornets have some injuries of their own, but thankfully, they’re not too serious, so MKG and Marvin might be able to go. If not, look for possibly more playing time for some of the role-players.

Keys to the game:

The Hornets will face another competent three-point shooting team in this one, as the Raptors are right behind the last team the Hornets faced, ranking 6th in three-point field goal percentage.

The only difference between the Pacers and Raptors is that the Raptors actually attempt more threes, ranking 7th in the NBA in that category, and 5th in makes. That was the case in the game back in Toronto as they made 47% from downtown. So, perimeter defense is a must in this one. Of course, the injuries the Raptors have could change their gameplan.

Raptor opponents snag the most offensive rebounds in the league, with the opposing team grabbing nearly 12 offensive boards a game. Charlotte ranks 6th in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game, so if their shots aren’t falling at the rate they should, they should be fairly able to grab rebounds off misses and create opportunities for second-chance points.

The Hornets certainly have a tough slate of games ahead of them. They’re also still in a relatively good position to contend for that final playoff spot in the East. This stretch of games could seal their fate. We’ll see if they can help dig themselves out of a hole Wednesday night in Charlotte.