Hornets Enter Must-Win Situation on Second Night of West Coast Back-to-Back

Will the Sacramento Kings pose an unexpected challenge?

Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images

With only sixteen games left in the 2025-26 regular season, the Charlotte Hornets rank 10th in the Eastern Conference standings with 33 wins and 33 losses. They desperately need every win they can get to climb higher, even more so since the competition doesn't seem to be losing much.

Luckily for the Bugs, tonight should, in theory, be an easy opportunity for a victory:

Tonight's opponent: The Sacramento Kings (16-50 record)

Statistically, the Kings are bad in pretty much every way.

They have the worst three-point percentage, second-worst record, third-worst defensive rating, and fourth-worst offensive rating in the NBA. Their shot profile is also by far the most midrange-reliant.

To start the season, Sacramento won just four of its first twenty-two games, and a couple of weeks later, it went on a sixteen-game losing streak.

But as of recent, they have at least been able to beat fellow bottom dwellers like the Pacers, Grizzlies, Mavericks, and Bulls, netting them four wins in their last ten.

Although tonight's injury reports haven't been released yet, it's fair to assume that Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, De'Andre Hunter, Keegan Murray, and Dylan Cardwell will continue to sit out with injuries.

Projected Starting Lineups:

	Hornets	Kings
Point Guard	LaMelo Ball	Russell Westbrook
Shooting Guard	Kon Knueppel	Nique Clifford
Small Forward	Brandon Miller	DeMar DeRozan
Power Forward	Miles Bridges	Precious Achiuwa
Center	Moussa Diabaté	Maxime Raynaud

The Hornets should start their usual, well-renowned five, while the Kings will have to resort to an unusual mix because of their injury troubles.

Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan are the two remaining pieces from the lineup that started most games early on in the season. Both towards the tail ends of their careers, they can still have big scoring nights from time to time.

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Precious Achiuwa (above) was initially signed for frontcourt depth in late November and has been on somewhat of a hot streak over the last ten games. Over that stretch, he is averaging 15.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.

And finally, Nique Clifford (24th pick) and Maxime Raynaud (42nd pick) are two rookies who have played well, considering they were thrown into cold water.

Off the bench, head coach Doug Christie relies on a wild mix: Experienced sixth man Malik Monk, Veteran big man Drew Eubanks, the sophomore duo of Devin Carter and Daeqwon Plowden, and finally ten-day contract signee Kilian Hayes.

Key To The Game: Keep The Ball Moving On Offense

After showcasing great offensive basketball for almost all of 2026, LaMelo and Co. have become a bit complacent offensively in the last couple of games. In five of their last six contests, their assist total was below their season average.

This can partly be attributed to the integration of Coby White into the rotation and the fact that the core of the team was broken up due to suspensions when they were at their most harmonious.

A big part of the Hornets' slight offensive downturn has been Miles Bridges. Since his return from suspension, he is only shooting 36.6% from the field. | Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images

But that's all in the past, and with the postseason a month away, the offensive flow needs to return sooner than later, ideally now.

There simply is no better opponent to do this against than the Kings, who, at this point, have a thrown-together team that couldn't possibly have a lot of defensive chemistry.

Add to that the fact that the Kings' personnel has plenty of defensive weaknesses anyway, and this becomes a game where the Hornets almost have to score 120 or more points.

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