Game Preview: Charlotte Hornets seek a much-needed win over San Antonio Spurs
After losing against the Washington Wizards, the Charlotte Hornets seek to get back on track against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Charlotte Hornets (16-32) lost another game on Thursday night after ending an eight-game losing streak on Tuesday. If the Hornets have any aspirations of making the playoffs, then Saturday night’s road game against the San Antonio Spurs (21-26) is a must-win.
Both of these teams have yet to face each other this season, so this will be an interesting one to watch since the Hornets no longer have Kemba Walker. The Horners had a rare outing last year, as they won both matchups over the Spurs.
According to both teams’ head to head record, the Spurs have not lost consecutive games at home to the Charlotte Hornets since the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons. Before last season, the last time the Hornets won on the road against the Spurs was November 15th, 2006.
The Hornets’ previous game was a 121-107 loss on the road to the Washington Wizards. However, the Spurs’ last game resulted in a 127-120 home win over the Utah Jazz.
Charlotte Hornets at San Antonio Spurs
9:00 p.m. EST, Saturday, February 1st, 2020
AT&T Center
Fox Sports Southeast
Stream: Fubo.tv
Injury Report:
CHA:
PJ Washington – Ankle (Questionable)
SAS:
LaMarcus Aldridge – Thumb (Questionable)
Things to watch for:
As the Hornets play their second straight road game, it will be interesting to see if both teams will continue to honor Kobe Bryant before the game. The Hornets have honored Bryant in their previous two games by wither taking an 8-second backcourt violation or a 24-second shot-clock violation.
With LaMarcus Aldridge possibly out, look for the Hornets to take advantage of this by attacking the Spurs’ frontcourt early. The Spurs currently only allow 47.2 paint points per game, making them the 14th best team in paint defense.
Keys to the game:
Even after the Hornets suffered a terrible loss to the Wizards, the team will need to pick up where they left off in the first half of that game. In a defensive game like this, the Hornets cannot afford to miss open opportunities to score points.
While the Spurs are known to be a defensive team, they are also ranked 7th in the league in points per game with 113.6. The Hornets must play well on both sides of the court to come out with a win.
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The Hornets are currently six games out from having the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference, so I don’t expect them to take this game lightly. A win here would slightly help move them forward in the standings.