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The Charlotte Hornets (10-8) are at home playing the worst team in the NBA -- yes, worse than the Philadelphia 76ers -- the Dallas Mavericks (3-14) tonight. Tuesday's game against the Detroit Pistons was something of a scheduled loss, but a handful of upcoming games -- including tonight's -- are against the NBA's bottom feeders. The Hornets have a chance to right their ship and pick up some relatively easy wins.
The Mavs have the third worst net rating in the league at -7.5 this season thanks to an absolutely abysmal offense paired with an average-at-best defense. Much of Dallas' struggles are due to injuries to Dirk Nowitzki, Deron Williams, and J.J. Barea, but there's little doubt this year's squad does not evoke the Mavs' championship team from a few seasons ago.
The talent that isn't old is gone. The talent that isn't gone is old.
Here's what you need to know to tune in:
What: Hornets vs Mavericks
When: Dec. 1, 2016 at 7 p.m.
Where: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC
TV: Fox Sports Southeast, NBA League Pass
Radio: WFNZ 610 AM, WFNZ 102.5 FM
Marvin Williams is out once again, but everyone else is suited up and good to go. Marv's feeling good, apparently, but hasn't been cleared to play. For the Mavs, Andrew Bogut, Seth Curry, and Dirk are out. Deron Williams and Devin Harris are likely to play.
Here are tonight's projected starting lineups:
Hornets | Position | Mavericks |
Kemba Walker | PG | Deron Williams |
Nicolas Batum | SG | Wesley Matthews |
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | SF | Harrison Barnes |
Frank Kaminsky | PF | Dorian Finney-Smith |
Cody Zeller | C | Salah Mejri |
Look, the Mavs are bad when they're healthy, and they're nowhere close to healthy tonight. The Hornets would need to screw things up awfully bad to lose at home after a couple of days of rest.
So long as the Hornets can lock down Barnes and limit Matthews, they should come away with a win tonight. Fingers crossed!
Hop on down to the comments to chat about tonight's game.
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