The slumping Hornets face off against the Minnesota Timberwolves

INJURY REPORT:

Hornets: PROBABLE - Taj Gibson (Illness), Jusuf Nurkic (Low Back), OUT - Brandon Miller (R Wrist), Tre Mann (Disc Irritation), Josh Okogie (L Hamstring), Grant Williams (R ACL)

Timberwolves: OUT - Rudy Gobert (Low Back)

Game Preview:

The Hornets have been playing some rough basketball in their past seven games. Not only have they lost all seven, but the closest loss was just seven points. In the past week, the Hornets lost by 53, 42, and 36 points, plus a loss to the Washington Wizards.

The Hornets' offense has been very lackluster as well. They have scored over 100 points just once and it came last time out against the Warriors, where they scored 101.

Their opponent, the Minnesota Timberwolves, are coming off of a win versus the Philadelphia 76ers last night, which could give the Hornets a slight advantage in the resting factor.

For the Hornets, LaMelo Ball has been struggling from the field. He is averaging just 18 points per game after the All-Star break and his shooting splits are not ideal, as he's shooting below 35% from the field and from three.

With Ball's struggles, Miles Bridges has drastically stepped up his play, averaging 23.4 points per game, along with 7.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists. He's also shooting the ball at a high level, hitting at a 41% clip from three and over 43% from the field. There's no question he's been the Hornets best player during that stretch.

For the Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards has been phenomenal and most of that has been due to his increased shot-making ability from downtown. It will be the seventh game that Ball and Edwards have faced off against each other. Ball holds the 5-2 record over Edwards so far.

Key Matchup: The Bench

The Hornets bench is so depleted right now, it's almost impossible to win games, even if the starters play near perfect. What doesn't help, is the fact that the Timberwolves have such a deep bench with very respectable players.

The Timberwolves' bench is filled with guys like Donte DiVincenzo and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who are both incredible in their roles. Naz Reid typically comes off the bench and is having another productive campaign. Their rookies of Terrance Shannon Jr. and Rob Dillingham Jr. have also played key roles in the Timberwolves' success.

How are the Hornets going to stop the play of Minnesota's bench? I'm not sure they will be able to. The Hornets' bench has been outscored by more than 20 points in their last two games.

Projected Starting Lineups

Position	Charlotte Hornets	Minnesota Timberwolves
Point Guard	LaMelo Ball	Mike Conley
Shooting Guard	Nick Smith Jr	Anthony Edwards
Small Forward	Josh Green	Jaden McDaniels
Power Forward	Miles Bridges	Julius Randle
Center	Mark Williams	Naz Reid

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