Tonight, the Charlotte Hornets will look to close the gap on the Orlando Magic and move to 2-0 on this seven-game homestand.<\/p>\n
Moments ago, both head coach submitted their starting lineups for tonight’s contest.<\/p>\n
The Hornets’ starting five<\/p>\n
G LaMelo Ball – Melo is coming off a 30-piece against the Heat \u2014 a game where he also dished out 13 assists and pulled down six boards.<\/p>\n
G Kon Knueppel – The frontrunner for Rookie of the Year has strung together three straight 20-point outings and recently put up 22 against Miami despite being in foul trouble.<\/p>\n
G Brandon Miller – B-Mill has had a couple of rough games for a variety of reasons. He went just 2\/14 against the Kings and then followed that up with a 16-point performance where he committed some bad fouls, flirting with some foul trouble.<\/p>\n
F Miles Bridges – After a dreadful start to the month, Bridges has turned things around in his last three games, shooting a much better ball, especially from three.<\/p>\n
C Moussa Diabat\u00e9 – Moose has failed to reach double figures in his last eight games, but he’s still done all of the other things that make him an impactful player, such as his 13 rebounds, two steals, and a block against Miami.<\/p>\n
The Magic’s starting five<\/p>\n
G Jalen Suggs – In Orlando’s loss to Oklahoma City, Suggs had 14 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.<\/p>\n
F Desmond Bane – Bane has been exactly what Orlando was hoping for when they traded a haul to Memphis to land him. He’s given them a reliable three-point threat, connecting on 39% of his attempts from deep.<\/p>\n
F Tristan Da Silva – Da Silva has done a nice job when inserted into a starting role. He’s upped every area of his game \u2014 shooting percentage, rebounding, assists, blocked shots, steals, etc.<\/p>\n
F Goga Bitadze – Wendell Carter Jr. has been ruled out for tonight’s game with a mild left rib contusion, so Bitadze will fill in. He’s averaging 5.6 points and 4.8 rebounds this season.<\/p>\n
F Paolo Banchero – Although his numbers are still strong, Banchero is having a bit of a down season. That said, since the start of March, he’s been red-hot, putting up 25.5 points per night. He has three 30-point games so far this month.<\/p>\n