Charlotte Hornets: Preview and things to watch against Toronto Raptors

After losing two straight, the Charlotte Hornets will look to get back on track in their second game against the Toronto Raptors.

The Charlotte Hornets lost in their last game against the Toronto Raptors. While the team is riding a two-game losing streak, Charlotte will be seeking to start a new winning streak on Saturday night.

At the beginning of the last game on Thursday against Toronto, the Hornets were trailing throughout. After halftime, Charlotte found a way to come back and make it a three-point game in the closing stages.

The Raptors were the second-worst team in the league based on their record. However, the Hornets did not come out ready and let the last game slip away from them. With some corrections from the last game, Charlotte should come out and play better.

Charlotte Hornets vs. Toronto Raptors
7:30 p.m. EST, Saturday, January 16th, 2021
Amalie Arena
Fox Sports Southeast

Stream: Fubo.tv

Injury Report:

CHA:

Cody Zeller – Hand (Out)

Gordon Hayward – Hip (Questionable)

TOR:

Patrick McCaw – Hip (Out)

Alex Len – Personal (Questionable)

Things to watch:

The Hornets only lost by three in their last game against the Raptors, and a big reason because of that could be because of Gordon Hayward’s absence. Hayward is the team’s leading scorer, and he would’ve helped the Hornets out a lot on offense.

PJ Washington is coming off a 20 point double-double against the Raptors, so he’s a player who could be poised for a second straight good game. The Hornets need him to continue to rebound the basketball consistently.

Malik Monk got his first extended minutes of the season in the last matchup as well. He made three three-pointers and finished with ten points. With that said, Charlotte could look at giving him another shot off the bench.

Keys to the game:

The Hornets did a good job at limiting Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry, and Fred Vanfleet to under twenty-points a piece last game. However, the main problem was Chris Boucher’s 25 point double-double off the bench. The Hornets cannot allow Boucher to have another career game.

Another major key is to run the Raptors off the three-point line. Toronto made 20 threes in the last game, and it’s a major reason why Charlotte lost. The Hornets did a better job at limiting threes at the end of the game, but the Hornets can’t just defend the three for only one quarter.

Finally, the Hornets need to take better care of the basketball. Charlotte committed 20 turnovers on offense, which allowed Toronto to get many good shots in transition. If the Hornets can limit the turnovers, they should have a good chance of winning their seventh game this season.