After blowing a fourth quarter lead on Friday night, the Charlotte Hornets have a chance to redeem themselves less than 48 hours later.
Charlotte (7-18, 3-7 in their last 10) is in Cleveland to take on a Cavaliers (15-11, 5-5 in their last 10) side that hasn’t quite lived up to their lofty preseason expectations. Cleveland was the Eastern Conference’s number one seed last season, and some marginal offseason upgrades (Lonzo Ball, most notably) gave them a reasonable chance to repeat that feat.
However, a rash of injuries to some key players and uncharacteristically poor play from Darius Garland and DeAndre Hunter have left Cleveland vulnerable as they slide down the Eastern Conference standings.
Could an upset be in the cards this afternoon? It is unlikely, but the Hornets do have a path to stealing a victory in the Land.
The Cavaliers will be without All-Star power forward Evan Mobley and they may also be without fellow All-Star Jarrett Allen. If those two players miss today’s game, Charlotte should be able to see some success in the painted area. The Cavs fouls opposing players at the fourth worst rate in the league, and if they are without their two best interior defenders, the Hornets should be able to parade to the cup and score easy points at the line.
On the other end of the floor, Cleveland will pick at Charlotte’s weak point: the three-point line.
The Hornets welcome opposing shooters to fire away from deep, and the Cavs have no problem getting them up. Cleveland shoots the third most three-pointers in the sport, and although they make them at a bottom-five rate, we all know how big of a basket poor jump shooters see when the Hornets ride into town.
Winning the free throw battle while on offense and limiting Cleveland’s three-point makes while on defense will be the to major keys for Charlotte today.
Key matchup: Donovan Mitchell vs. Brandon Miller
Mitchell remains one of the league’s premiere perimeter scorers. The veteran guard is currently the fourth-highest scoring player in the league, averaging a career-high 31.4 points per game. He is a three-level scorer in every sense of the term, as Mitchell is shooting above league-average at the rim, in the mid-range, and from three.
Although the Hornets will likely change who guards Mitchell from possession-to-possession, Miller should get the first crack it. He struggled to contain the Bulls’ ball handlers on Friday night, allowing drive after drive by Josh Giddey and company, and he’ll have his hands full against Mitchell on Sunday afternoon.
Charlotte obviously needs Miller to shoot it better if they want to spring an upset (he’s made 7 of his last 24 three-pointers and is shooting a paltry 28% on the season), but his real impact must be felt on the defensive end in this one.
Projected starting lineups
Charlotte Hornets
Cleveland Cavaliers
Point Guard
KJ Simpson
Darius Garland
Shooting Guard
Kon Knueppel
Donovan Mitchell
Small Forward
Brandon Miller
Jaylon Tyson
Power Forward
Miles Bridges
De’Andre Hunter
Center
Ryan Kalkbrenner
Jarrett Allen
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