Charlotte Hornets vs Cleveland Cavaliers Preview: Game 29 – At The Hive

What: Charlotte Hornets (9-19) (3-11 away) at Cleveland Cavaliers (15-14) (9-8 home)

When: 7:00pm Eastern

Where: Rocket Arena; Cleveland, OH

How to watch: Peacock, FanDuel Sports Network, NBA League Pass

Outfitting: Hornets–Statement (purple), Cavaliers–City (orange)

Game Lines: Hornets +9.5, Hornets money line +310, O/U 238.5

Injuries:
Hornets: LaMelo Ball-probable (wrist), Ryan Kalkbrenner-questionable (elbow), Collin Sexton-doubtful (quad), Grant Williams-out (knee)

Cavaliers: Donovan Mitchell-probable (illness), Craig Porter Jr.-probable (illness), Sam Merrill-probable (hand), Evan Mobley-out (calf), Larry Nance Jr-out (calf), Max Strus-out (foot)

The Hornets are finally getting healthier (for now). LaMelo Ball clearly tweaked his wrist getting knocked over during a brutally physical game against the Pistons, but he seems to be no worse for the wear. Kalkbrenner apparently took a knock too, but he could still gut it out. Sexton probably isn’t playing, but the fact that he’s gone from out to doubtful means that he’s close. That leaves Grant Williams as the only remaining injured Hornet as he works back from the torn ACL he suffered last year. Knock on wood.

They should be feeling good about their chances tonight. They may have gotten drubbed by the Pistons, but they will remember that they beat this very seem Cavs team in this very same arena just eight days ago. Kon Knueppel led the way with 29 points while Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges chipped in decent games as well. And LaMelo didn’t even play. He’s only going to add to the offensive firepower.

The Cavs, meanwhile, played two games against the Bulls between that last meeting and now, and they lost them both by double digits. Both games followed roughly the same pattern. The Cavs were able to score just fine, but they had no answer for a Bulls offense that’s pretty mediocre. A Hornets team with LaMelo Ball and Kon Knueppel should have no problem scoring points. They’ll just need to keep Donovan Mitchell reasonably in check, and they have a chance to take another game in Cleveland.

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