Charlotte Hornets at Indiana Pacers Game Preview

The Hornets are heading again on the street following an upset win over the Bucks to tackle the Indiana Pacers. The Hornets at present sit at 11-29 on the season, good for the 14th-best report within the East. In the meantime, the convention foe Pacers have compiled a 22-18 report on the season, good for the seventh seed.

The younger Hornets have struggled to combat via a myriad of accidents this season, usually making them straightforward pickings for playoff-caliber foes. Regardless of this, the blowout 138-109 win over Milwaukee on Friday reveals that this Charlotte squad has not rolled over and plans to combat in each sport they will.

The Pacers are one other younger staff with a budding star level guard from the 2020 class, Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton was a late lottery decide by the Kings, who has discovered himself flourishing because the commerce to Indiana. A eager consciousness of the court docket has helped him lead a surprisingly competent Pacer squad to extra success than many anticipated.  

The Pacers even have Myles Turner, who looks as if he has been a rumored commerce goal for the Hornets for years. Turner can do a little bit of all the things, however his shot-blocking prowess is the place he gives probably the most worth. The Hornets are going to must watch out in opposition to the Pacers’ inside protection, as Indiana at present averages the third-most block per sport within the NBA (5.1).

With out Kelly Oubre Jr., who anchored Charlotte’s roster via the hardest of the damage woes, Charlotte goes to want environment friendly perimeter play on each ends of the court docket. Particularly, they’ll have to discover a solution to lock down Buddy Hield, who’s at present main the NBA in 3-pointers made whereas taking pictures the Tenth-best 3PT% within the league.

Matchup to Watch: LaMelo Ball vs Tyrese Haliburton

Each level guards hail from the identical draft class and have seen sufficient success via their third NBA seasons to have separated themselves from the remainder of the category’ guards. Each guards deliver a go the ball with mastery properly past their years and are set as much as be All-Stars for a very long time. Seeing them play head-on offers viewers the chance to instantly evaluate the younger stars.

2022-23 Crew Stats

PPG: 115.6 (IND), 112.0 (CHA)

RPG: 42.0 (IND), 45.8 (CHA)

APG: 26.9 (IND), 25.2 (CHA)

FG%: 46.3% (IND), 44.6% (CHA)

3FG%: 37.1% (IND), 32.5% (CHA)

FT%: 80.0% (IND), 74.5% (CHA)

2020-21 Crew Leaders (Returners solely):

Minutes: Tyrese Haliburton – 33.5 (IND), Terry Rozier – 35.4 (CHA)

FG%: Isaiah Jackson – 56.5% (IND), Mason Plumlee – 64.7% (CHA)

3FG%: Buddy Hield – 42.9% (IND), LaMelo Ball – 37.7% (CHA)

PPG: Tyrese Haliburton – 20.4 (IND), LaMelo Ball – 23.7 (CHA)

RPG: Myles Turner – 7.9 (IND), Mason Plumlee – 9.5 (CHA)

APG: Tyrese Haliburton – 10.2 (IND), Terry Rozier – 5.3 (CHA)

SPG: Tyrese Haliburton – 1.7 (IND), LaMelo Ball – 1.6 (CHA)

BPG: Myles Turner – 2.2 (IND) , PJ Washington – 1.1 (CHA)

Stat key: PPG – factors per sport | RPG – rebounds per sport | APG – assists per sport | SPG – steals per sport | BPG- blocks per sport

Wizards roster

PG: Tyrese Haliburton, T.J. McConnell, Trevelin Queen

SG: Andrew Nembhard, Benedict Mathurin (DTD)

SF: Buddy Hield, Chris Duarte, Oshae Brissett

PF: Aaron Nesmith, Jalen Smith (DTD), James Johnson

C: Myles Turner, Isaiah Jackson, Goga Bitadze, Terry Taylor

Head coach: Rick Carlisle

Hornets roster

PG: LaMelo Ball, Dennis Smith Jr. , Theo Maledon

SG: Terry Rozier, Kelly Oubre Jr. (OUT), James Bouknight

SF: Gordon Hayward (DTD), Jalen McDaniels, Bryce McGowens

PF: P.J. Washington, Kai Jones, JT Thor

C: Mason Plumlee, Nick Richards, Mark Williams

Head coach: Steve Clifford

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