Charlotte Hornets at Brooklyn Nets Game Preview
The Hornets hit the road again on Sunday, starting their three-game road trip in Brooklyn. The Hornets sit at 20-45 on this season, which all but guarantees them the 14th-best record in the Eastern Conference with 17 games left to play. The Nets, meanwhile, are trying to hold on to the 6th seed at 35-28 without the recently traded Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
The trade deadline saw the Nets add Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson from Phoenix, as well as Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie from Dallas. All four have stepped into starting roles with Brooklyn as the team looks to retool sans their All-NBA talents. Bridges has been an especially welcome addition, averaging 23.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists while easily clearing the coveted 50/40/90 shooting splits.
The current iteration of the Hornets is struggling since star point guard LaMelo Ball went down with a fractured ankle. Without Ball, Terry Rozier has slotted back into the starting point guard role where he saw success earlier in the season when Ball missed time. Rookies Mark Williams and Bryce McGowens have found themselves with rotations spots for the remainder of the season, where the team will see what exactly they can look forward to from the youngsters as decisions about next year's lineup creep closer and closer.
What to Watch for:
No team blocks as many shots as Brooklyn's 6.4 swats per game. The Hornets meanwhile score 48.4% of their points in the paint, the fourth-highest rate in the league. In spite of this high rate of points in the paint, Charlotte shoots a league-worst field goal percentage in the paint at 38.4%. Mark Williams and the rest of the Hornets are going to have to be very aware of Nic Claxton's ability to make life difficult for shooters inside.
PPG: 113.7 (BKN), 112.2 (CHA)
RPG: 40.1 (BKN), 45.0 (CHA)
APG: 25.6 (BKN), 25.1 (CHA)
FG%: 4.7% (BKN), 45.5% (CHA)
3FG%: 38.6% (BKN), 32.8% (CHA)
FT%: 79.9% (BKN), 75.0% (CHA)
2022-23 Team Leaders:
Minutes: Nikola Jokic - 33.6 (BKN), Terry Rozier - 35.7 (CHA)
FG%: DeAndre Jordan - 76.1% (BKN), Mark Williams - 63.7% (CHA)
3FG%: Vlatko Cancar - 45.7% (BKN), PJ Washington - 35.0% (CHA)
PPG: Mikal Bridges - 25.3 (BKN), Terry Rozier - 21.4 (CHA)
RPG: Nic Claxton - 9.0 (BKN), Mark Williams - 6.4 (CHA)
APG: Spencer Dinwiddie - 6.7 (BKN), Terry Rozier - 4.8 (CHA)
SPG: Cameron Johnson - 1.5 (BKN), Kelly Oubre Jr. - 1.5 (CHA)
BPG: Nic Claxton - 2.5 (BKN) , Mark Williams - 1.1 (CHA)
Stat key: PPG - points per game | RPG - rebounds per game | APG - assists per game | SPG - steals per game | BPG- blocks per game
Nets roster
PG: Spencer Dinwiddie, Seth Curry, Edmond Sumner (OUT), Patty Mills
SG: Mikal Bridges, Cam Thomas
SF: Cameron Johnson, Joe Harris, Yuta Watanabe (DTD)
PF: Dorian Finney-Smith, Royce O'Neale,
C: Nic Claxton, Ben Simmons (OUT), Day'Ron Sharpe, Nerlens Noel
Head coach: Jacque Vaughn
Hornets roster
PG: Terry Rozier, Dennis Smith Jr., Theo Maledon, James Bouknight
SG: Kelly Oubre Jr., Bryce McGowens,
SF: Gordon Hayward, Cody Martin (OUT), Svi Mykhailiuk
PF: P.J. Washington (OUT), JT Thor, Kai Jones
C: Mark Williams, Nick Richards
Head coach: Steve Clifford
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