The Hornets snapped a three-game skid with a big win in Brooklyn on Friday night and will look to keep things rolling with a home matinee against the Portland Trail Blazers starting today at 1 p.m. ET.
Portland took round one between the two sides, 127-96, back on Jan. 11, a game which was arguably one of Charlotte’s worst defensive efforts of the season. The Blazers shot 55.9 percent from the field and recorded an eye-popping 16 blocks in the contest, six of which came via Bosnian center Jusuf Nurkić. Of note, Cody Zeller did not play in this game as he was still recovering from right hand surgery at the time.
Since moving back to the two-guard spot after the All-Star Break, Nic Batum has been playing his best basketball of the season for the Hornets. Across his last five appearances, the French native is putting up 16.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.0 BPG and 1.2 SPG, while shooting 49.2 percent from the field and an outstanding 48.6 percent from three (18-of-37).
Batum will be paired up with his former Portland understudy in C.J. McCollum, a sixth-year product from Lehigh University. The NBA’s Most Improved Player three years ago ranks sixth amongst NBA shooting guards in scoring this season (21.2 PPG), although is draining a career low (although still solid) 37.0 percent of his long-distance attempts in the process.
Charlotte has gotten off to better starts in each of its last three outings and will need to do so again with a red-hot Trail Blazers squad on deck. Portland is seventh in the NBA in three-point percentage (36.0 percent), which means the Hornets need to once again be mindful of sharpshooters McCollum, Damian Lillard and Seth Curry in the opener of a critical three-game homestand.
Game Note – This will be the sixth stop on a seven-game road trip for the Blazers. They are currently 4-1 thus far… Portland is fourth in the NBA in second-chance points per game (14.6)… Charlotte is 17-7 this season when leading after the first quarter (11-2 at home) and 12-24 when trailing.
Classic Fact – The Hornets lost their first 10 all-time head-to-head meetings with the Trail Blazers before finally recording a 94-92 victory in Portland on March 5, 1993. Larry Johnson finished with a team-high 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Alonzo Mourning added 15 points and a game-high 17 rebounds.