Preview: Suns Will Have Their Hands Full vs Hornets

The Phoenix Suns play host to the Charlotte Hornets today, a crew that's really turned things around as of late.

The Hornets have won their last 16-of-20 games entering Sunday's 7:00 PM PST tip at Mortgage Matchup Center. And for the calculator nerds out there, winning the math game is something they thrive in.

Suns Have to Match Hornets' 3-Point Shooting

The Hornets rank third in three-point field goal percentage and first in overall made threes as a team entering Sunday. Charlotte also is home to two of the NBA's top five three-point shooters in Kon Knueppel and LaMelo Ball in terms of average threes made per game.

Case in point, the Hornets often win the NBA's "math game" as a mountain of threes shot typically overrides paint dominant teams.

The good news for Phoenix? They're quite capable of putting those kinds of shots up themselves. The Suns are fifth in total three-pointers made and shot 58 attempts from deep in their last game — which isn't exactly preferred from head coach Jordan Ott, though as long as they're good shots, he's fine with it.

"As long as they're high quality," Ott said post-game after their win over New Orleans on Friday.

"I quickly looked at the shot quality. I think we were lower tonight than we were last night. I would always encourage more rim ideally if we can get there, get to the free throw line from it, but it does feel like we're getting some catch-and-shoots the last three nights. ... As long as they're high quality, we'll take them."

Both the Suns and Hornets play near the bottom of the league in terms of pace, so it's not as if either team will be pushing the ball up court often or try to win the shot clock battle early in possession.

The Suns are still down all of Jordan Goodwin, Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams due to injuries. Charlotte, meanwhile, is healthy outside of Tidjane Salaun, who is out with a calf injury.

While there's a heavy emphasis on the three-ball, the Hornets do in fact rank top five in total team rebounds per game, so it's not as if they're not a presence in the paint, either.

The Suns have just a 39% chance to win tonight according to ESPN's basketball index, and it does feel with injuries the odds are stacked against them.

You never know in the NBA, though Ott and his staff certainly have their hands full tonight.