Preview: Hornets begin final multi-game road trip of season against Pelicans

Mar 23, 2023 - 2:30 PM

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What: Charlotte Hornets (23-50) at New Orleans Pelicans (35-37)

When: 8:00 PM EST

Where: Smoothie King Center; New Orleans, La.

How to watch: Bally Sports Southeast, NBA League Pass

Outfitting: Hornets — City (granite); Pelicans — Association (white)

Injury report

CHA: LaMelo Ball (ankle surgery), OUT; Cody Martin (knee soreness), OUT; Mark Williams (thumb sprain), OUT.

NOP: Jose Alvarado (leg), OUT; E.J. Liddell (knee), OUT; Zion Williamson (hamstring), OUT.

The Charlotte Hornets have hit the road for their final multi-game road trip of the 2022-23 season, beginning with a matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Tonight’s meeting wraps up the season series with the Pelicans, who claimed a 124-112 victory in the second game of the season on Oct. 21, 2022.

After a hot start to the year, the Pelicans have trailed off considerably; on Dec. 30, 2022, New Orleans held a record of 23-12. From then on, they’ve gone 12-25 with health playing a massive role in their downturn. Zion Williamson has been out since Jan. 2 with a hamstring injury and Brandon Ingram has played in just 35 games this year, and both missed games during a 10-game losing streak in January and early-February. Ingram will be available tonight, though Williamson is still out and was just recently cleared to return to on-court activities. The Pelicans were a popular dark horse title pick early in the winter, but now they’re 12th in the West and a half-game behind the 10th-place Lakers.

On the season, New Orleans is 20th in offense and ninth in defense. With the Hornets ranking third in defense over the last 15 games, we could be in for a grindfest this evening. The Hornets are also sixth in pace in that same stretch, showing that Steve Clifford is able to uphold his coaching principles while maximizing the strengths of the roster, even without LaMelo Ball on the court.