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Who: Charlotte Hornets at Minnesota Timberwolves
When: 8:00 p.m. EST
Where: Target Center
TV: Fox Sports North, Fox Sports Southeast, NBA League Pass
The Charlotte Hornets have hit their first bump in the 2016-2017 regular season, stumbling into their first losing streak of the season with back-to-back losses to two of the best teams the Eastern Conference has to offer. Depending on how you want to look at it, Tuesday night's showdown with the Minnesota Timberwolves is a perfect opportunity to turn things around - or a trap game that the Hornets could very easily trip over.
The Minnesota Timberwolves came into the season with a lot of hope and promise. A young core led by the trio of Karl Anthony-Towns, Anthony Wiggins and Zach LaVine sat on the precipice of a breakout season. But, Minnesota has stumbled out of the gate, starting the season 3-6.
Offensively, Minnesota is one of the better teams in the Association. They average 107.9 points per game, placing them in the top ten in the Association. They have two players averaging 20+ points per game - Towns (22.1) and Wiggins (26.3, ninth-most in the NBA entering Monday), and Wiggins is coming off of a career-high 47-point explosion in Minnesota's 125-99 victory over the Lakers on Sunday. LaVine is averaging19.8 points per game, but he, along with Shabazz Muhammad and Brandon Rush, have already been ruled out of Tuesday's game.
For the Hornets, Jeremy Lamb is once again out. As of Monday night, no official word has been given on the statuses of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist or Roy Hibbert, or on how much either would play. The defense of Kidd-Gilchrist and Hibbert would go a long way in trying to slow down the duo of Towns and Wiggins. Charlotte should be able to put up points - they average 104.4 points per game, while Minnesota is allowing 105.1 points per game.
Expect big points (hello Papa Johns!), expect a show from Kemba Walker and expect a Hornets' win.
For extra coverage, look to our good friends at Locked on Hornets. Take it away, gentlemen!