Game Preview: Orlando Magic at Charlotte Hornets

In just a couple of hours, the Charlotte Hornets are going to tip of their second "Most Important Game of the Season," of the week.

After blitzing the Miami Heat on Tuesday evening and incrimentally closing the gap in the Eastern Conference playoff race, the Hornets welcome the Orlando Magic to the Spectrum Center with the chance to shrink the differnce in the standings yet again.

The Hornets are 2-1 against the Magic this season and can clinch the season series with a home victory tonight. However, the Orlando squad they're facing has been on a tear and is totally outperforming their early season results.

Since the February 5th trade deadline, Orlando is 13-6 with a +6.4 net rating, good for 11th in the NBA in the time period -- a pretty big leap from their season-long +0.5 net rating. I believe the Hornets will have enough to walk away with the victory tonight and clinch another tie breaker in the nip and tuck Eastern Conference playoff race, but it will be difficult against a surging Orlando side.

Let's dive into tonight's matchup.

Injury Report

Charlotte Hornets: OUT Tidjane Salaun (Calf)

Orlando Magic: OUT Anthony Black (Abdominal), Jonathan Isaac (Knee), Franz Wagner (Ankle)

Key Matchup

Jalen Suggs vs. LaMelo Ball

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) handles the ball defended by Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black — Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

I can't say enough about how good LaMelo Ball was against the Miami Heat earlier this week.

If you consider all of the circumstances: Charlotte's poor run of form, Miami's top ten defense that suffocted the Hornets in the last quarter the teams played against each other, the stakes of the game in terms of playoff positioning, and the struggles of Ball's running mates....

I think that was the best game of LaMelo's NBA career. His ability to unlock the Miami zone that completely changed the game in the last matchup between the teams was the key to Charlotte's second half brilliance. Ball was completely in control of the game from start to finish, dictating the tempo with his sublime ball handling and decision-making, not to mention his ludicrous touch as a shooter.

He'll need to double down on that performance and bring his hard hat again on Thursday night, because Jalen Suggs has been exactly what the doctor ordered for a struggling Magic outfit.

According to Cleaning the Glass, Orlando wins Suggs' minutes by 10.9 points per 100 possessions, the best number on the team. Suggs is one of the best two-way guards in the NBA right now, and when healthy, he is a difference maker for Orlando as both a staunch defender and an offensive table-setter.

Projected Starting Lineups

Orlando Magic	Charlotte Hornets
Jalen Suggs	LaMelo Ball
Desmond Bane	Kon Knueppel
Tristan da Silva	Brandon Miller
Paolo Banchero	Miles Bridges
Wendell Carter Jr.	Grant Williams

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