**What:** Charlotte Hornets (3-7) (2-3 home) vs Milwaukee Bucks (7-4) (3-2 away)
**When:** 7:00pm Eastern
**Where:** Spectrum Center; Charlotte, NC
**How to watch:** FanDuel Sports Network, NBA League Pass
**Outfitting:** Hornets–Statement (purple), Bucks–Association (white)
**Injuries:**
Hornets: LaMelo Ball-out (ankle), Brandon Miller-out (shoulder), Josh Green-out (shoulder), Grant Williams-out (knee)
Bucks: Giannis Antetokounmpo-questionable (knee), Taurean Prince-out (neck), Kevin Porter Jr.-out (knee)
The Hornets are still going to be without LaMelo and Miller, but LaMelo at least [practiced with the Swarm](https://x.com/HornetsPR/status/1988299456207622225?s=20) on Tuesday, presumably to get some full-ish speed run to see how his ankle responds. You’d assume that’s a sign that he’s close to returning. Hopefully the Hornets will have both of their stars back sooner rather than later.
The Bucks may also be without their best player. Giannis is questionable with a knee issue, but he’s been playing without limitation, so I’d be surprised if he ultimately sits out. He’s having pretty much exactly the same season he’s had for the last several years now, averaging 30+ points, double digit rebounds, six assists, and two stocks per game. He gets to the line a ton, takes forever to shoot them, and still doesn’t make very many. The Hornets have absolutely no one that can match up with Giannis, but they did do a respectable job game planning against him last season. In the first meeting between the two teams, which the Hornets won, Giannis only attempted one free throw. The Hornets crowded his driving lanes and made him a passer. That’s probably the only way to stop him from getting his numbers.
However, the Bucks know that teams are going to want to do that, so they’ve stocked up their roster with shooting. They went all-in on acquiring Myles Turner in the offseason (that’s how Pat Connaughton ended up here) as the perfect stretch five to pair with Giannis. Turner hasn’t put up big numbers yet, but the threat he provides causes problems.
If you can guess who the Bucks second leading scorer is without looking, then you really know ball. It’s not Turner or Kyle Kuzma or Gary Trent Jr. or any of the other well known players the Bucks have. It’s Ryan Rollins. He’s averaging a very efficient 16.5 points per game as the team’s starting point guard.
The rest of the main rotation is pretty much all shooters averaging around 10 points per game. It’s very easy to see a world where the Hornets have 20 to 25 threes made on them tonight. They’ll need a cold shooting night from the Bucks to have their best chance to win.
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