The Hornets travel to Milwaukee on Friday night to take on the Bucks in their first game since the trade deadline. P.J. Washington and Gordon Hayward are obviously no longer with the team, and it’s a quick turnaround for the new players to suit up.
The team enters the game on a 9-game losing skid, and sits at 10-39 for the season, 13th in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks are tied for 3rd in the East, and have a record of 33-19, but they’ve been in a bit of a slump themselves, as they’ve lost three straight, and are just 1-5 under new coach Doc Rivers.
The Bucks have been dealing with injuries of their own and also made a trade. So both teams will enter Friday night with a lengthy injury report and a bit of a skeleton crew taking the floor.
Hornets injury report
For the Hornets, LaMelo Ball (ankle), Mark Williams (back), and Kyle Lowry (not with team) remain ‘Out’. Steve Clifford provided an update on Williams, and it’s not exactly promising.
Mitch Kupchak on Mark Williams
— James Plowright (@British_Buzz) February 9, 2024
“He did see a specialist in the last week (Kupchak refers to him as the best specialist in the country), it will take some time but he does expect 100% a return to play”
Kupchak revealed Mark Williams will be revaluated again in another 4 weeks,… pic.twitter.com/6NAjOFH4Ua
Needless to say, it doesn’t sound like Williams will be on the court any time soon, and this situation is getting extremely concerning.
New additions, Grant Williams, Seth Curry, Tre Mann, Vasilije Micic, and Davis Bertans will also all be ‘Out’ tonight, so we’ll have to wait at least another day until any of them make their Hornets debut. But Cody Martin is ‘Probable’ to play, and two-way guard, Amari Bailey has been called up from the G-League and will be active tonight.
Bucks injury report
The Bucks will be without Khris Middleton tonight, as he suffered an ankle injury in a recent game against the Suns. Damian Lillard has missed the last couple of games with an ankle injury and is listed as ‘Questionable’ for tonight.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) and Jae Crowder (ankle) are both listed as ‘Probable’ for the game. And the Bucks’ own trade deadline acquisition Patrick Beverley is apparently pushing to play but may be held out for reasons beyond his control.
Somebody tell Cam Payne take his physical. I’m trying to play tonight. #FearTheDeer @PatBevPod
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) February 9, 2024
The Bucks are currently listed as 14.5-point home favorites for this matchup.