Hornets aim to get back on track against lowly Pacers on the heels of a painful loss

The Hornets (13-24) are at home for the second straight night, this time hosting the Indiana Pacers (6-31). This will be the second of four matchups between the teams this season, with the Pacers taking a 127-118 victory in the first meeting earlier in the year.

Charlotte enters the matchup on the heels of a heartbreaking 97-96 loss to the Raptors. LaMelo Ball’s go-ahead basket with 1.6 seconds left wasn't enough as Immanuel Quickly hit a three-pointer as time expired to propel the Raptors to the victory.

Charlotte struggled especially with turnovers last night, giving up the ball 18 times compared to five times by the Raptors. This aligns with a broader trend in the season where not only are the Hornets' 15.8 turnovers per game the fifth-most in the league, but the 6.8 steals per game are also the fewest in the league.

The injury bug also continued to rear its head for the Hornets as Brandon Miller missed the matchup with a knee contusion. The third-year wing had averaged 26.6 points per game in the five games prior to missing last night. He is expected back in the lineup tonight, however.

On the Pacers' side, the season has not been kind as of late. The reigning Eastern Conference champions have lost a franchise-record thirteen straight games entering the matchup, breaking a previous record of twelve straight losses seen three times in the eighties.

Overcoming the injury to star point guard Tyrese Haliburton was always going to be a monumental task for the Pacers coming into the season, but a 13-win pace for a team that made the NBA Finals last season has been quite the shocker.

Not only will the Pacers be looking for their first win since December 8th tonight, but head coach Rick Carlisle will be looking to secure his 1000th career win as a coach. Carlisle has been stuck one game from the feat for the entirety of the losing streak.

Key Matchup - Interior Scoring

In 17 games played since the start of December, the Hornets have scored more points in the paint than their opponents just twice. Season-wide on a per-game basis, the Hornets rank 22nd in the league in points in the paint, as well as 23rd in opponents' points in the paint.

These struggles have been mitigated in some ways by the fact that the Hornets are sixth in the league in both volume and percentage of threes made, but ultimately, winning basketball still often involves being competitive on the interior.

Luckily for the Hornets, the Pacers are the only team in the NBA that both score fewer points in the paint offensively and also allow more points in the paint defensively.

Either team taking over a space that both teams struggle in would surely be a way to gain a leg up in tonight’s matchup.

INJURY REPORT

Hornets: OUT Grant Williams (Knee), Ryan Kalkbrenner (Elbow), Mason Plumlee (Groin), Brandon Miller (Knee);

Pacers: OUT Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles), Obi Toppin (Foot), Benedict Mathurin (Thumb), Isaiah Jackson (Concussion)

Projected Starting Lineups

Position	Charlotte Hornets	Indian Pacerz
Point Guard	LaMelo Ball	Andrew Nembhard
Shooting Guard	Sion James	Quenton Jackson
Small Forward	Kon Knueppel	Aaron Nesmith
Power Forward	Miles Bridges	Pascal Siakam
Center	Moussa Diabate	Jay Huff

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Breaking down the Hornets' starting lineup vs. the Toronto Raptors

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