Free Falling Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets come into Friday night’s game with the Spurs having lost 16-of-17 games and with the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference. The team recently welcomed back LaMelo Ball but the All-Star guard’s presence has not translated into victories. The Hornets have lost six straight games as they battle the Spurs on Friday night, hoping to end their skid. Ball, averaging a career-high 24.5 points per game this season, missed over six weeks with an ankle injury but the Hornets are 0-3 since he returned.

The ice-cold Hornets welcome the Sixers to town on Saturday night hoping to start to piece together some wins. Charlotte comes into Friday night’s action with the 28th-ranked scoring offense in the NBA. They are 28th in field goal shooting and 20th in 3-point shooting. Charlotte is also just 27th in the NBA in 3-point field goals per game. Defensively, the Hornets are 25th in scoring defense this season. They are 27th in field goal defense and last in the NBA in 3-point defense. The Hornets are 19th in turnovers per game this season. They are also just 28th in the NBA in total rebounds per game.

Right Back at it

The Philadelphia 76ers get right back to work on Saturday after taking on the Magic in Orlando on Friday night. The 76ers have won three straight games heading into Orlando on Friday night after losing three straight games before this run. The Sixers are happy to have MVP Joel Embiid back from injury during the current run. Embiid has scored over 40 points twice during the three-game winning streak and is averaging over 37 points per game throughout the last three games. That includes a 41-point game against former MVP Nikola Joncic and the Denver Nuggets.

“I don’t think I care what people decide who’s the best,” Embiid said. “I know I want to be the best, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to be the best. But sometimes you got to be able to win as a team. You got to do the best job possible to make sure that you put yourself and the team in the best position possible to win. And it seems like if you want to be the best, you got to win … you got to find a way to win. So, that’s my goal.

The Sixers come into this game with the sixth-ranked scoring offense in the NBA. They are 13th in field goal percentage and 12th in 3-point shooting. The Sixers are 21st in the NBA in 3-point field goals made per game. They are 9th in the NBA in scoring defense. They are 7th in the NBA in field goal defense. They are also 1st in 3-point defense. The Sixers are 14th in the NBA in total rebounds per game. The Sixers are also third in the NBA in turnovers per game.