The New York Knicks play host to the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night in an Eastern Conference showdown from Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. The Hornets come in as one of the worst teams in the league, having lost three in a row coming into this one. For the Knicks, they've established themselves as one of the hottest teams in the league, carrying a nine-game winning streak over into Tuesday night. In two meetings this season, the Knicks are 2-0, and they'll be looking to ensure a season sweep in this one.
The Hornets brought some talent into the season but a lack of depth and an unfortunate amount of injuries continues to make life difficult for this group. They've lost three games in a row coming into Tuesday night and still are sitting with single-digit road wins on the season. With a 9=26 record in road games, there isn't much expected out of them as they head to one of the most challenging places to play in the NBA of late. From a confidence standpoint, it's not likely that the Hornets have forgotten about their two earlier losses this season to the Knicks either. The first game at MSG saw them take the Knicks to overtime but with that one having been played all the way back in October, too much has changed on both sides since then to expect them to compete in the rematch.
As mentioned earlier, injuries haven't been the kindest to this group, especially of late. Lamelo Ball (ankle) is the biggest ab sence, as the star has been ruled out for the season. Beyond that, Cody Martin (knee) was a significant off-season signing who has been out since the tail end of January.
Gettin' work done on a Monday. #LetsFly pic.twitter.com/b3bqqc5VL3
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) March 6, 2023
Charlotte's struggles, especially on the offensive side of things, leave quite a bit of room for concern in this one. They rank 25th or worse in nearly every offensive category on the season and now that they are also without Ball, their top playmaker, they'll be searching for scoring. It won't help that the Knicks are great on the defensive end. Terry Rozier (21.3 ppg, 4.8 apg) should have the ball in his hands quite a bit, while Kelly Oubre Jr. (20.0 ppg) has come along strong over the last week as well. The offensive glass could be their best bet towards finding success in this one and with the league's eighth-ranked offensive reboudning group, generating those second-chance opportunities could provide some additional scoring.
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