Hornets at Timberwolves Game Thread

Hornets at Wolves
6:00 pm CDT
FS North

The Charlotte Hornets enter the day 1/2 game back of the 8th playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a 29-38 record. It's a tale of 2 sides of the court for the Hornets, who are the 28th ranked offense in the league but the 6th ranked defense. Among their top 12 in shot attempts, Al Jefferson has the highest FG% at 48%. They are also last in the league in 3P%. Not surprisingly, they are last in EFG% as well.

Things had been looking better for the Hornets prior to the current road trip, where they have lost three in a row. Mo Williams, who was acquired from the Wolves in exchange for Gary Neal, got off to a great start with his new team, but has since regressed, not surprisingly. Meanwhile, Kemba Walker returned from injury five games ago, sending Williams back to the bench, but has struggled since his return.

Defensively they are a much different story. They minimize possessions by leading the league in DRB%, limit good looks, and don't foul. It all adds up to a defense that is keeping them in the playoff race despite their inability to score.

The first meeting between these teams was among the worst games for the Wolves this season, and that's saying something. They met in Charlotte on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and it was a brutal, ugly rout. The 105-80 final doesn't do it justice. Hopefully the Wolves will put together a better performance tonight.

It remains unclear as of this writing who will be available for the Wolves tonight. They have been incredibly short handed for the past couple of weeks, but hopefully a couple of guys will be healthy today. Justin Hamilton missed a couple of games with headaches, but will hopefully be back tonight. Ricky Rubio played in one of the games on the road trip, and might be able to go tonight. We'll see.

Expected lineups

Hornets

Kemba Walker
Gerald Henderson
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Cody Zeller
Al Jefferson

Wolves

Ricky Rubio
Kevin Martin
Andrew Wiggins
Gorgui Deing
Justin Hamilton

Here's a link to At The Hive. Be excellent.

No no and no.

Enjoy. Chat. Go.