Shorthanded Hornets head to Brooklyn to take on Nets

Getting you ready for tonight's Hornets game.

Ian Black | Feb 10, 2025

Jan 29, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges (0) drives to the basket against Brooklyn Nets guard Keon Johnson (45) during the second half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

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Charlotte Hornets

INJURY REPORT

Hornets: OUT - Tre Mann (Back), Grant Williams (Knee), Brandon Miller (Wrist), Josh Okogie (Hamstring) QUESTIONABLE - LaMelo Ball (Ankle), Mark Williams (Trade pending), Nick Smith Jr. (Back), Josh Green (Calf), Moussa Diabate (Face), Jusuf Nurkic (Trade pending)

Nets: OUT - Bojan Bogdanovic (Back), Maxwell Lewis (Leg), Cameron Thomas (Hamstring), Noah Clowney (Ankle), De’Anthony Melton (ACL) QUESTIONABLE -D’Angelo Russell (Illness)

Game Preview

The Charlotte Hornets (13-37) continue their nine-game road trip on Monday, this time heading to the Big Apple to take on the Brooklyn Nets (18-34). This will be the third of four meetings this season between the teams, with the Nets having won the first two matchups.

The Hornets come into the game once again in a bit of disarray. Winners of just one of their last eight games played, the Hornets are dealing with an extremely thinned out roster due to a variety of injuries and unusual trade situations. Even against another team with their sights set on the lottery, first-year coach Charles Lee certainly has his work cut out for him in this one.

On the other side, the Nets have surprisingly hit a bit of a hot streak lately. Heading into the January 29th matchup with the Hornets, the Nets had won just one of their last thirteen games, and only four times total since the beginning of December. Since then, the Nets beat the Hornets thoroughly with a 104-83 victory in Charlotte and won four of five games overall.

With a couple key contributors of their own missing for this game and Ben Simmons having recently been bought out of his contract, look for the team’s leading scorer Cam Johnson to shoulder an even larger load than normal.

Key Matchup - Shot Selection

When teams have injuries to key players, the usual game plan has to change. Key scorers leave holes that naturally need to be filled by the players who remain. When those players who remain step up, they either leave holes of their own behind, or shoulder loads that they may not be prepared for.

Having as many players out as the Hornets and Nets do for this one, gameplans can chart into uncharted waters that require a whole other level of adaptability beyond what is normally required in an NBA game.

One area that can really suffer with these fluid role changes can be shot selection. The less practice a specific lineup has, the more they have to try and create that cohesion and success in ways they normally wouldn’t. For teams like the Hornets and Nets, who already rank 30th and 27th in the NBA in field goal percentage this season, the task is even taller.

Whichever team is able to remain disciplined and find a rhythm on the fly could very well have the edge in this one. Look for Miles Bridges and Cam Johnson to be the respective leaders of their teams in trying to facilitate this.