Charlotte Hornets Preview: LaMelo Ball Faces Brother in Primetime Matchup Against Pelicans
After coming off a win on Wednesday night, the Charlotte Hornets will look to continue their successes in a Friday night Primetime game against the Pelicans.
The Charlotte Hornets are coming off of a huge win over their I-85 rivals, the Atlanta Hawks. On Wednesday night, led by Gordon Hayward‘s career-high 44 points, the Charlotte Hornets got back to their winning ways. They started the game off hot, and when the Hawks made a rally, the Hornets prevailed and won the game.
While this win was impressive and much needed, the Hornets can’t celebrate for too long because they are heading into their final game of a four game road trip on Friday night, as they take on Zion Williams and the New Orleans Pelicans.
Heading into the game, the Hornets are going to need a lot of that impressive defensive play that they showed in their game against the Hawks. The Pelicans are a much bigger team than the Hawks, much like the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Pelicans come into Friday night’s game with a record of 4-4, losing on Wednesday night to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In that game against the Thunder, Zion Williams scored 29 points and Mr. Moustache himself, Steven Adams, quietly earned a triple-double.
Charlotte Hornets vs. New Orleans Pelicans
7:30 p.m. EST, Friday, January 8th, 2021
Smoothie King Center
ESPN
Injury Report
CHA:
Cody Zeller – Hand (Out)
NOP:
JJ Redick – Knee (Day-to-Day)
Things to watch for:
For starters, let’s begin with the elephant in the room. This will be the first time the Ball brothers, LaMelo and Lonzo, will play against each other in an NBA game. The entire sports world will be watching this matchup, which is probably why the NBA wanted the game placed in their primetime slot.
Look for the Ball brothers to compete to win, and also to compete with each other. These are brothers and it’s because of that simple fact that they will go out there and play their butts off. There is definitely such a thing as “sibling rivalry”.
Also on this note, make sure you follow their father, LaVar Ball on Twitter to keep up with any and all comments about his two sons playing against each other. Oh to be a fly on the wall in his house on Friday night.
Another thing to watch for is the Hornets’ big man rotation. The Hornets are going to have their hands full with New Orleans’ big men, Zion Williams and Steven Adams. With Zeller out, we may see quite a rotation for the Hornets. Look for Nick Richards and Vernon Carey Jr. to get some playing time. I have a feeling that the Pelicans are going to try and pound the ball down low.
Keys to the game:
The Hornets are going to need to win the turnover battle! This game is going to get physical really quickly, and usually, when things get physical the turnovers pile up. The Hornets need to win this battle.
The Hornets are going to need to be better than the Pelicans in both field goal percentage and three-point percentage. The Pelicans are without a doubt going to win the battle in the paint. Williams is one of the most dominant players in the NBA, and just in case that wasn’t enough, the Pelicans went and got Steven Adams to sure up the paint. The Hornets’ big men struggled against the Hawks, who are definitely not known for the big men. Because of this, the Hornets will need to shoot and make a higher percentage of shots than the Pelicans.
The last key to the game and I feel like I repeat myself consistently, but the Hornets are going to need to play the entire 48 minutes. This year the Hornets have been notorious for taking quarters off, allowing the other teams to either run away with the game or to get back in the game. This has got to stop. The Pelicans are too talented of a team to do this against. If the Hornets want to win, they are going to need to play their game for 48 minutes.
This game should be a fun one to watch. The Hornets have an up and coming star in LaMelo Ball, and there is no doubt in my mind that he is excited to play against his older brother. Look for LaMelo to have another good night.
Lastly, this is the first and only game the Hornets play on national primetime television, so make sure to tune in to ESPN and watch how they perform on a national stage. If the Hornets can pick up this game, and split their four-game road trip, they can come back to Charlotte feeling pretty good about themselves.
