Charlotte Hornets head to the nation’s capital to battle the Washington Wizards
After snapping an eight-game losing streak, the Charlotte Hornets travel to Washington, hoping to make it two in a row as they face the Wizards.
The Charlotte Hornets (16-31) finally ended their season-long losing streak on Tuesday, and it has to be a least a little cathartic given the current morale around the league. They’ll look to make it two straight when they face off against the Washington Wizards (15-31) on the road.
These teams have played twice already this season, splitting the two games, with each victory going to the home team. Oddly enough, each outcome was decided by seven points, so at least the games were somewhat close. Perhaps this one could be entertaining as well.
Obviously, Washington is struggling this season, much like Charlotte. Most of the Wizards’ woes, however, have come from numerous injuries to several key players. Charlotte has been comparatively injury-free, but have sustained a few here and there.
As touched on before, Charlotte’s last game was a 97-92 victory over the New York Knicks. They are at the 11th spot in the Eastern Conference. Washington’s last outcome was a 151-131 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. They are right behind the Hornets at the 12th spot in the East. This is the third of four matchups featuring these two teams.
Charlotte Hornets at Washington Wizards
7:00 p.m. EST, Thursday, January 30th, 2020
Capital One Arena
Fox Sports Southeast
Stream: Fubo.tv
Injury Report:
CHA:
None
WAS:
Jordan McRae – Ankle (Out)
Rui Hachimura – Groin (Out)
Moe Wagner – Ankle (Out)
Garrison Matthews – Ankle (Out)
John Wall – Achillies (Out)
Things to watch for:
It’ll be interesting to see if the tributes to Kobe Bryant and the other victims of that horrific helicopter crash will still be pouring out. I wouldn’t be surprised if they lasted the remainder of the season, but I suppose we’ll see.
As usual, the Wizards will be quite banged up for this game, but it’s looking like the majority of their injuries will be remedied soon as most will be back around the start of February. Still, the Hornets should take advantage.
Keys to the game:
Despite their unfortunate record, the Wizards score the 5th most points per game. Their main issue is that they give up the most points in the NBA, allowing a staggering 121 points per contest. In fact, over their last two games, they’ve given up over 300 points. Both of Charlotte’s games against the Wizards this season have been fairly high scoring affairs, so hopefully, the Hornets can keep up with the Wizards’ output.
Much of Washington’s output is from deep, where they rank 8th in the league in three-point field goal percentage. Charlotte’s perimeter defense still isn’t where it should be, but it has improved throughout the season. They’ll be tested in this one.
Next. Fans want Kobe Bryant’s jersey number retired. dark
Winning is always fun, especially when it snaps a significant losing streak. Perhaps they can get on the right kind of streak with a win over the Wizards. We’ll see if they can leave D.C. with a win Thursday evening.