Knueppel-less Hornets look for third straight win, playing host to Bucks and Giannis

The Greek superstar returned to Milwaukee's lineup two weeks ago.

Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

It's a perennial play-in-showdown! The 12th-ranked Charlotte Hornets will welcome the 11th-ranked Milwaukee Bucks at Spectrum Center. Tipoff time is set at 7 pm, and a bunch of Hornets will have to watch from the bench in street clothes due to injury.

That group of players sadly includes ROTY-hopeful Kon Knueppel, who injured his ankle against the Orlando Magic on Friday. He reportedly avoided a serious injury, but won't be ready to go tonight:

Injury report

Charlotte Hornets: OUT Mason Plumlee (R Groin), Grant Williams (R Knee), Kon Knueppel (R Ankle), Ryan Kalkbrenner (L Elbow), Questionable: Sion James (Illness)

Milwaukee Bucks: OUT: Taurean Prince (Neck), Questionable: Gary Trent Jr. (L Calf)

That injury report for the hosts is bad enough as it is, but it's even worse because Giannis Antetokounmpo doesn't appear on that of the guests. Without him, the Bucks have won only three of fourteen games this season. With him in the mix, they are above 50% in terms of winning percentage.

The two-time MVP returned from an eight-game absence on Saturday against the Chicago Bulls, willing his squad to a 112-103 win with a 29-point and 8-rebound performance.

An exclamation point: Giannis Antetokounmpo caps off a successfull return to action with a poweful slam | David Banks-Imagn Images

He caused a good amount of controversy when he threw down a windmill dunk in the final moments of the by then already decided game. It was supposed to send a message to his team, as he revealed in a postgame interview:

If that is what has to happen for everybody to wake up and understand that we are fighting for our lives and have got to get our hands dirty, so be it.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Despite their low position in the standings, the Bucks will pose a big challenge to the Hornets. With Giannis Antetokounmpo at his most competitive and desperate to succeed, how can Charles Lee's team grind out a win?

Key to the Game: Win the possession battle

The Milwaukee Bucks are a truly exceptional shooting team. They rank third in effective field goal percentage, with only the Nuggets and the Lakers ahead of them. Filling out the top five are the San Antonio Spurs and the OKC Thunder. Not a bad company to be in.

It doesn't matter much if Antetokounmpo attacks the rim or one of the Bucks' many good shooters burns you from deep. The chance you'll get scored on is pretty high. So the goal has to be to allow them as few field goal attempts as possible.

One of the more underrated guard duos in the NBA? Ryan Rollins (17.4ppg/5.8apg/4.2rpg) and Kevin Porter Jr. (19.1ppg/7.4apg/5.2rpg) are both putting up good numbers on high efficiency. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

That means forcing turnovers, sending them to the line when possible (they have a league-worst FT% of 72.8), and controlling the rebounding (Bucks grab a league-low 8.5 offensive rebounds per game).

It's a recipe that has already worked for much worse teams against the Bucks this year. The Washington Wizards had a 129-126 win over them despite Giannis playing 32 minutes and Milwaukee shooting a blistering 55% from deep.

Why? Because the Wizards only had ten turnovers to the Bucks' sixteen, fifteen offensive rebounds to the Bucks' seven, and the Bucks ended up making only 13 of their 21 free throw attempts.

A lot of responsibility will fall on Moussa Diabate today. With both the first- and third-string center out, the Frenchman will get an opportunity to play lots of minutes if he can stay out of foul trouble.

The Moose favors the Bucks: As a Hornet, Diabate has averaged 12.4 rebounds and 8.8 points against Milwaukee. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Probable Starting Lineups

Player	Hornets	Bucks
Point Guard	LaMelo Ball	Kevin Porter Jr.
Shooting Guard	Brandon Miller	Ryan Rollins
Small Foward	Sion James	AJ Green
Power Forward	Miles Bridges	Giannis Antetokounmpo
Center	Moussa Diabate	Myles Turner

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