Charlotte Hornets at Denver Nuggets
Time: 7 PM CT (NBA TV)
Spread: DEN -2.5
Total: 198.5
Betting odds c/o 5dimes
The free fall continues for the Charlotte Hornets, losers of its last six games and eight of its last 10 overall.
Charlotte will travel to face the Denver Nuggets, and the Nuggs are 2.5 points favorites in the game which will air at 7 PM Central on NBA TV.
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The Hornets skid has dated back to a 122-117 loss to the L.A. Clippers and includes the Toronto Raptors, Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns and again, the Clips a second time. In that most recent 97-83 loss to L.A., the Hornets got a big game from guard Jeremy Lin who shot 9 of 16 from the floor en route to a team-high 26 points. Kemba Walker, however, struggled badly, hitting just 4 of 16 from the floor and turning it over four times in the game.
For his part, Walker has been scoring en masse, but his shooting has been quite subpar. Though averaging 21.6 points and four assists over the Hornets past five games, he is connecting on just 36 percent from the floor and 23 percent from three-point range.
The former Connecticut Huskie is posting 19.3 points per game this year on 43 percent shooting, so to get a more efficient game from Walker would be ideal. He has not connected on 50 percent or better from the floor since the Hornets last win, against the L.A. Lakers on Dec 28.
Part of what has kept the Hornets in the dump has been the unavailability of swingman Nicolas Batum. Batum is listed as questionable for this game but has missed the last four contests. Prior to injury Batum had averaged 15.7 points, seven assists and 6.5 rebounds in 38.8 minutes per night for the six games prior to going down.
On the season, he is having a career year: 16.3 points, five assists and six boards per game for the 6’8” free agent acquisition. Batum has made it a swallowable pill for the Hornets losing Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for the year, and it stands to reason that with a healthy roster next year this team could do some damage.
The Hornets also, of course, are getting precious little from Al Jefferson who is out another three to five weeks. But he had not been overly productive even prior to going down. Jefferson is scoring four points below his career average and was seeing just 25 minutes per game. He is now in his 11th season at age 31, but there should be more good basketball left in his sneakers.
As to how the Hornets motivate a guy who was suspended for smoking a de-motivating drug in marijuana…that is anyone’s guess. The Hornets are not a loaded enough team that it can make waves without Jefferson re-establishing himself in the post, both literally and figuratively. And missing both he and Batum has been a sure cause for disaster evidenced by the recent ‘Ls.’
The Nuggets are 13-24 on the season and have not even been a major threat at the Pepsi Center where the team has won just five of 16 games this season. Denver has a negative 4.7 point differential and has lost eight of its past 10 games.
Expect Denver to be active at the trade deadline. With no clear direction, the Nuggets may fire sale some of the talent on its roster. Atop that list will be forward Danilo Gallinari and big man Kenneth Faried. Both are in the midst of good and productive seasons, but Denver has no hope of salvaging this season and making the playoffs.
Gallo is averaging 18.4 points per game while hitting 37.5 percent from three and he could make an attractive stretch-4 on the right roster. Faried is good for 12 points and nine boards, but showed no propensity towards taking on the bigger role that the Nuggets tried to provide him after a breakout rookie campaign.
Will Barton may end up being the Nuggets blue chip prospect, and he indeed has already played some good basketball. Barton is averaging 15.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while posting a PER of 18.9. That trails only Gallinari and Faried.
Rookie Emmanuel Mudiay has battled leg injuries and is posting a PER of just 6.7, but that is a reflection of his efficiency, not his potential. The Nuggets can build around Barton and Mudiay going forward, both dynamic offensive talents and plenty youthful. While this game is certainly not a showcase game for the Nuggets to be dealt, that seems like the ultimate destiny of this roster—implosion.
