This Friday, the (2-2) Charlotte Hornets will travel to Orlando, FL to take on the (0-5) Orlando Magic. Tipoff will be at 7:00 PM EST inside the Amway Center. Both of these teams are very young, but we will still see a lot of talent on the floor. Neither team has started this season hot, as they will look to pick up momentum against one another.
The Charlotte Hornets are coming into this one after falling to the New York Knicks in overtime, 134-131. Charlotte looked great on the offensive end of the court, as they continued to score throughout that game. Unfortunately, their defense struggled, as they allowed the Knicks to shoot 53.6% from the floor.
The Orlando Magic are entering this one after falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 103-92. They struggled on the offensive end of the court, as they couldn't score enough points to keep this game competitive. They will have to be better on offens e against this Hornets team if they want to have a chance of winning their first game of the season.
The Charlotte Hornets have been up and down to begin this season, as they suffered a heartbreaking loss in overtime the last time they were on the floor. They will now be looking to bounce back against the Magic. On offense, Charlotte is scoring 124.5 points per game and shooting 49.2% from the floor. This is the second-highest shooting percentage in the league and the most points averaged per game. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Hornets have an adjusted offensive rating of 117.5, which is the fourth highest in the NBA. They have also shown that they can step behind the three-point line and knock down shots from deep. They are making 41.7% of their three-point shots, which is the highest percentage in the league. They have also done all of this without Lamelo Ball, as he is still listed as questionable with an ankle injury for this game. Unfortunately, they have struggled at the free-throw line. They are only knocking down 74.2% of th eir shots from the charity stripe. They can't continue to leave these free points on the court if they expect to consistently win these games.
On the defensive end of the court, the Hornets currently have an adjusted defensive rating of 109.1, which is the 11th-best in the league. They are allowing their opponents to score 117.3 points per game and shoot 45.5% from the floor. This is the 21st most points surrendered per game, as they have continued to struggle to keep their opponents from consistently scoring. This is the 12th-lowest field goal percentage allowed in the NBA, though. They have continued to contest shots near the basket and they have been great at defending on the perimeter. Their opponents have struggled to consistently knock down the long ball, as they are holding their opponents to the second-lowest three-point shooting percentage in the NBA. They have only made 28.1% of their three-pointers. The Hornets are also snatching 45.5 rebounds p er game, which is the 10th most in the league.
Injury Report: Lamelo Ball (Ankle), Cody Martin (Quadricep), and Terry Rozier (Ankle) are listed as questionable.
No House Advantage: Bet on player over/unders VS THE HOUSE to 21x your bet OR play in PICK 'EM contests against other people! Click here to get a 1st deposit match up to $50 1st w/ promocode WandW!