Charlotte Hornets vs Los Angeles Lakers Game Preview
Game 50: Charlotte Hornets (27-22) vs Los Angeles Lakers (24-25)
The King makes his one and only trip to the Queen City on Friday night, however, there is a chance he is unavailable due to a sore knee. The Lakers were defeated soundly Thursday by the 76ers, 105-87. In James' absence, former Hornet Malik Monk filled in the starting lineup but only went for 11 points on 3/13 shooting including going 1/6 from three-point land. Anthony Davis led the way with 31 points and 12 boards.
The Hornets are coming off of the best offensive performance in franchise history putting up 158 points on the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night. It was the first time this season that the Hornets won a game in which Gordon Hayward did not play in. Dating back to last year, Charlotte is 10-22 with Hayward sidelined. He will be out once again tonight due to being in the NBA's Health & Safety protocols.
During the Hornets' two-game roadtrip, the defense took a step in the wrong direction. They gave up 76 points in the first half to Toronto and 70 points in the first half to Indiana. Once Borrego was able to make adjustments in the locker room at half time, they fixed that end of the floor in both games. The Hornets need to avoid a disastrous slow start defensively if they want to pull out a win over the Lakers.
2021-22 Team Stats
PPG: 110.7 (LAL), 114.9 (CHA)
RPG: 44.7 (LAL), 44.1 (CHA)
APG: 24.0 (LAL), 27.3 (CHA)
FG%: 46.4% (LAL), 46.4% (CHA)
3FG%: 34.6% (LAL), 37.1% (CHA)
FT%: 74.1% (LAL), 73.7% (CHA)
2021-22 Team Leaders (Returners only):
Minutes: LeBron James - 36.6 (LAL), Miles Bridges - 35.7 (CHA)
FG%: Anthony Davis - 52.4% (LAL), Mason Plumlee - 63.5% (CHA)
3FG: Malik Monk - 40.3% (LAL), Cody Martin - 44.1% (CHA)
PPG: LeBron James - 29.1 (LAL), Miles Bridges - 20.1 (CHA)
RPG: Anthony Davis - 9.7 (LAL), LaMelo Ball/Miles Bridges - 7.3 (CHA)
APG: Russell Westbrook - 7.6 (LAL), LaMelo Ball - 7.7 (CHA)
SPG: LeBron James - 1.6 (LAL), LaMelo Ball- 1.5 (CHA)
Stat key: PPG - points per game | RPG - rebounds per game | APG - assists per game | SPG - steals per game
Lakers Roster
PG: Russell Westbrook, Austin Reaves
SG: Avery Bradley, Malik Monk, Wayne Ellington
SF: LeBron James, Talen Horton-Tucker, Kent Bazemore
PF: Stanley Johnson, Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza
C: Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan
Head coach: Frank Vogel
Hornets roster
PG: LaMelo Ball, Ish Smith
SG: Terry Rozier, Cody Martin, James Bouknight
SF: Gordon Hayward (OUT), Kelly Oubre Jr. (QUESTIONABLE), Jalen McDaniels (OUT)
PF: Miles Bridges, P.J. Washington, J.T. Thor
C: Mason Plumlee, Nick Richards, Kai Jones
Head coach: James Borrego
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