Preview: Hornets travel to Dallas on second night of back to back

Mar 24, 2023 - 8:45 PM

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What: Charlotte Hornets (23-51) at Dallas Mavericks (36-37)

When: 8:30pm EDT

Where: American Airlines Center; Dallas, TX

How to watch: Bally Sports Southeast, NBA League Pass

Outfitting: Hornets—Association (white), Mavericks—City (blue)

Injury Report

CHA: LaMelo Ball—out (ankle), Cody Martin—out (knee soreness), Terry Rozier—doubtful (foot discomfort), Kelly Oubre—questionable (shoulder strain), Mark Williams—probable (thumb sprain), Dennis Smith Jr.—probably (illness)

DAL: Kyrie Irving—questionable (foot), Tim Hardaway Jr.—questionable (illness)

The biggest news coming into the game is the upgrade of Mark Williams injury status to probable. He’s been out since March 9th when he sprained his thumb against the Pistons. He’ll have eight games to build some momentum heading into the offseason.

Otherwise, it’s just one step closer to the end of the season for the Hornets. The Mavericks at their best are significantly better than the best version of these healthy Hornets, even if Irving and Hardaway don’t play. The Hornets have been defending well, but their inability to score is going to make it tough to keep pace with Luka, even if the Mavericks defense isn’t all that great.

If the Hornets lose tonight, they’ll clinch no worse than fourth in the lottery odds.