**What:** Charlotte Hornets (35-34) (15-17 home) vs Orlando Magic (38-30) (16-16 away)
**When:** 7:00pm Eastern
**Where:** Spectrum Center; Charlotte, NC
**How to watch:** FanDuel Sports Network, NBA TV, NBA League Pass
**Outfitting:** Hornets–Icon (teal), Magic–Statement (black)
**Game Lines:** Hornets -4.5, Hornets money line -170, O/U 227.5
**Injuries:**
Hornets: Tidjane Salaun-out (calf)
Magic: Franz Wagner-out (ankle), Anthony Black-out (abs), Jonathan Isaac-out (knee)
It’s Dell Curry night. The Hornets have to win on Dell Curry night. The number 30 jersey is being raised to the rafters, and the hive is going to be buzzing. The whole thing is long overdue, but credit to the new ownership for finally making it happen. And it’s well timed in a game that could have playoff implications late in the Hornets best season in several years.
Of note, Moussa Diabate isn’t on the injury report. He left Tuesday’s win over the Heat and went straight to the locker room while seemingly dealing with an issue with his hand or wrist. Whatever it was clearly wasn’t significant enough to warrant an entry on the injury report. That means he’ll be a full go for a fully healthy Hornets team.
The Magic, feeling the Hornets hot on their heels, had been on a tear for a couple of weeks, just like the rest of the teams around the Hornets in the play-in race. They won seven straight games before getting tripped up by the Hawks on Monday. They followed that with a loss to the Thunder the next night. Their offense has been up and down all season. It was up for all of the winning streak and then crashed back down in their two losses.
The main thing buoying their offensive success in recent weeks is the rate at which they get to the free throw line. Their free throw rate was above 25% in every game but one during their win streak but was below 20% in the two recent losses. We just watched the Hornets put the Heat on the free throw line 34 times on Tuesday. If they can tighten that up, they have a very good chance of slowing down the Magic offense.
Palo Banchero is still the team’s go-to guy, but he’s dialed back the usage with arrival of Desmond Bane. Bane got off to a slow start in his new home, but he’s been crushing it over the last few months. He and Tristan Da Silva are the only efficient volume 3-point shooters on the roster, which should make them a good match-up for the Hornets to guard. As long as the Hornets can keep track of Bane and guard the paint as well as they have for the last few months, they should be able to keep the Magic from scoring all that much. Orlando is not the defensive stalwart they’ve been in recent years, which makes this a very winnable game for the Hornets in their playoff push. And the Hornets have to win on Dell Curry night.
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