**What:** Charlotte Hornets (12-23) (5-13 away) at Oklahoma City Thunder (30-5) (17-1 home)
**When:** 8:00pm Eastern
**Where:** Paycom Center; Oklahoma City, OK
**How to watch:** FanDuel Sports Network, NBA League Pass
**Outfitting:** Hornets–Icon (teal), Thunder–Association (white)
**Game Lines:** Hornets +15.5, Hornets money line +750, O/U 232.5
**Injuries:**
Hornets: Brandon Miller-probable (knee), Kon Knueppel-questionable (hip), Moussa Diabate-questionable (wrist), Tidjane Salaün-questionable (ankle), Ryan Kalkbrenner-out (elbow), Mason Plumlee-out (groin), Grant Williams-out (knee)
Thunder (based on Sunday’s injuries): Isaiah Hartenstein-out (calf), Ousmane Dieng-out (calf)
The Thunder are by far the most terrifying team in the league to play against, unless you’re the Spurs. The Spurs have won all three meetings between those two teams. The rest of the league is 2-30 against the Thunder. And not only are the Thunder beating everybody, they’re throttling them. Their average game ends with a 15 point victory. The gap between their defensive rating and the league’s second best defensive rating is the same as the gap between the second best defense and a below average defense. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander only plays fourth quarters like two-thirds of the time because Oklahoma City usually has an insurmountable lead by then. In the four games since their last loss to the Spurs, they’ve won by 25, 11, 29, and 37.
The Hornets have already had to face the Thunder once, and they actually acquitted themselves quite well. They tied the game at one point in the third quarter before finally succumbing to the Thunder’s suffocating defense. That happened without LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. Having both back should make the offense better, but it’d be very optimistic to think they’re enough to help the Hornets compete with such a dominant team. The Hornets are going to have to get really, really hot from deep and hope from some off nights from the Thunder’s stars to have a chance to pull off the upset. Only the Spurs, Blazers, and Timberwolves have been able to do it so far. Wouldn’t it be something if the Hornets joined that list? The not-very-good 2025 Carolina Panthers just made the NFL playoffs with an 8-9 record, so anything is possible.
### _Related_