Game Preview: Hornets at Grizzlies

Friday night is upon us and the Charlotte Hornets (3-5) are heading to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies (5-3). The Hornets have had an admirable start to the season considering the injuries to key players LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier and Cody Martin. Those three, in addition to Gordon Hayward, will again be sidelined to night. This leaves the blossoming PJ Washington, along with impact veterans like Dennis Smith Jr. and Kelly Oubre to hold down the fort against a talented Grizzlies squad led by Ja Morant.

The fourth year forward Washington has especially come into his own this season. His scoring is up to 16 ppg on carrer high shooting percentages, including 31 and 28 point performances against the Warriors and Kings respectively within the last week. He will be looking to bounce back from an 8-point dud against the Bulls on Wednesday to lead Charlotte tonight.

The Grizzlies have fared well to start the season behind the power of their all-star point guard Morant. His scoring is up 31.4 ppg, up nearly 10 points over his career average. Dennis Smith Jr. has reinvented himself this season, performing with tons of energy and focus on the defensive end, but he will have his hands full tonight.

What to watch for:

The Hornets enter tonight's matchup averaging 17.4 second-chance points per game, good for third-best in the NBA. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies are dead-last in the NBA in second-chance points allowed at 18.0 allowed per game. The Hornets are also leading the league in fast-break points per game and total distance traveled per game (measured at 19.3 miles per game.) If the Hornets are able to continue with the fervency and effort they have brought to games so far this season behind the coaching of Steve Clifford, Charlotte could create lots of issues for their opponent despite being short handed. Effort can be the difference in a lot of regular season NBA games, and the Hornets are in no short supply.

2022-2023 Team Stats

Points Per Game

CHA- 113.4

MEM- 117.3

Points Allowed

CHA- 117.3

MEM- 113.0

Field Goal %

CHA- 46.1%

MEM- 46.7%

Assists Per Game

CHA- 27.6

MEM- 23.4

Rebounds Per Game

CHA- 46.1

MEM- 45.3

Charlotte's 2022-2023 Active Individual Stat Leaders:

Points Per Game: Kelly Oubre Jr. (17.4)

Assists Per Game: Dennis Smith Jr. (6.4)

Rebounds Per Game: Mason Plumlee (7.9)

Blocks Per Game: PJ Washington (1.2)

Steals Per Game: Dennis Smith Jr. (2.2)

Memphis' 2022-2023 Active Individual Stat Leaders:

Points Per Game: Ja Morant (31.4)

Assists Per Game: Ja Morant (6.4)

Rebounds Per Game: Steven Adams (10.1)

Blocks Per Game: Steven Adams (1.5)

Steals Per Game: John Konchar (1.7)

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