Hornets look to avoid season sweep against league-worst Washington Wizards

INJURY REPORT

Hornets: OUT: Tre Mann (Back), Grant Williams (Knee), Brandon Miller (Wrist), Josh Okogie (Hamstring), Wendell Moore Jr. (Concussion Protocol), K.J. Simpson (G-League); QUESTIONABLE: LaMelo Ball (Knee), Jusuf Nurkic (Illness), Tidjane Salaun (Ankle)

Kings: OUT: Jordan Poole (Elbow), Saddiq Bey (ACL), Malcolm Brogdon (Ankle), Colby Jones (G-League); QUESTIONABLE: Alex Sarr (Ankle)

Game Preview

The Charlotte Hornets (14-44) finally return home on Saturday after a grueling nine-game road trip, this time hosting the division rival Washington Wizards (10-48). This will be the fourth and final meeting of the season between the two squads, with the Wizards surprisingly leading the season series 3-0 despite having the worst record in the NBA.

The Hornets recent road trip saw them go 1-8 with a historically bad three-game stretch where the team lost by 131 combined points against the Trail Blazers, Kings, and Warriors. Most recently, the Hornets lost to the Mavericks, but by a more reasonable score of 103-96. Mark Williams made a big impact on the box score in that one, putting together a 26/16/3 line with a block on 56% shooting.

The Wizards come into the game having gone 1-7 in their last eight matchups, most recently falling 129-121 at home to the Trail Blazers. With leading scorer Jordan Poole- who has scored at least 40 points in a game multiple times this month- set to miss the game with an elbow injury, it will be up to the likes of players like Khris Middleton and Bilal Coulibaly to shoulder a larger load than normal.

Key Matchup - Shot Selection

When the teams with the worst two records in the NBA meet up this late in the season, glaring weaknesses are more of a certainty than a possibility. When it comes to these two squads, finding efficient shots is a shared example of one of these glaring flaws.

The Hornets and Wizards are 30th and 26th respectively in the NBA in field goal percentage from two-pointers. Efficiency does not look any better from deep, as the teams rank 28th and 29th respectively from three-point range. As a result, the Hornets 106.5 and Wizards 105.6 offensive ratings are clearly the worst two marks in the league.

The worse two teams are at shooting, the more variance that comes into play when they meet up. Whichever team is able to manufacture and convert the most efficient looks likely has the leg up, so getting their teams to play patiently and intentionally in that area will be paramount for first-year head coaches Charles Lee and Brian Keefe.

Projected Starting Lineups

Position	Charlotte Hornets	Washington Wizards
PG	LaMelo Ball	Bub Carrington
SG	Nick Smith Jr.	Khris Middleton
SF	Josh Green	Bilal Coulibaly
PF	Miles Bridges	Kyshawn George
C	Mark Williams	Alex Sarr

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