Charlotte Hornets: Preview and things to watch for vs Orlando Magic

The Charlotte Hornets had a strong chance of coming back from three-straight losses on Friday, but they failed. The team will now take on the Orlando Magic on Sunday to raise their current four-game losing streak.

The Hornets, despite having nearly a week of rest, could not stop the Bulls’ offense. The Hornets’ defense failed them in their last game, and Charlotte also allowed 64 scored points in the paint.

Furthermore, the Hornets only played the Magic twice last year, losing to them both times. In those two games, the Hornets lost by 12+ points. Charlotte will have a lot to handle on this upcoming back-to-back. Charlotte is also expected to play the Magic on Monday night.

Charlotte Hornets vs Orlando Magic
6:00 p.m. EST, Sunday, January 24th, 2021
Amway Center
Fox Sports Southeast

Stream: Fubo.tv

Injury Report:

CHA:

None

ORL:

Al-Farouq Aminu – Knee (Out)

Mo Bamba – Medical Protocol (Questionable)

Michael Carter-Williams – Foot (Out)

Markelle Fultz – Knee (Out)

Jonathan Isaac – ACL Tear (Out)

Things to watch for:

LaMelo Ball had an off game on Friday night. He only played for 17 minutes, and a big reason behind that was because of Ball’s five turnovers and Devonte’ Graham’s impressive play. Look for Ball to have a comeback game and get more playing time.

More from Hornets News

• Hornets: Where does Brandon Miller’s ceiling rank among other rookies?
• Charlotte Hornets grade out mostly average in position-by-position ranking
• Hornets News: P.J. Washington makes bold statement on Brandon Miller
• Grade the mock trade: Hornets snag Tyler Herro, flip Gordon Hayward
• 3 Areas that the Charlotte Hornets should see improvement in for 2023-24

This will be Cody Zeller’s third game of the season. Zeller had been out since opening night with a hand injury, and he played his most recent game on Friday night against the Bulls.

Zeller was not on a minutes restriction last game, so fans could see him playing even more on Sunday night.

Terry Rozier also did not have a good game on Friday. He was held scoreless in the first half of Friday’s game but managed to score 10 points toward the game’s end. Rozier is Charlotte’s second-leading scorer, so the Hornets will need him to get back to his normal nights of scoring.

Keys to the game:

The Hornets need to start this game by limiting the Magic’s shots from the perimeter. Charlotte has allowed 15+ made three in their last three games. This was also a problem in the Hornets and Magic’s last regular-season matchup last February.

If the Hornets want a shot, they need to guard the three a lot better. This also means defending Terrence Ross as soon as he comes into the game. Luckily for Charlotte, the Magic have the worst three-point shooting % in the league this season.

The Magic will be without some key contributors on Sunday, and the Hornets will need to take advantage of this. Look for Charlotte to use Gordon Hayward to score, as James Ennis III is starting in place of the injured Jonathan Isaac.

Finally, the Hornets must win the rebound battle. The Magic have some talented bigs, which have made them the 7th best rebounding team in the league. The Hornets have done well at rebounding lately, so they should look to keep this up.