It’s a battle of Eastern Conference teams on the parquet floor as a team north of the border embraces its new home in the Sunshine State. The Charlotte Hornets are on the road as they make the trip to face the Toronto Raptors Thursday night. Charlotte was at home on Wednesday night as they hosted the Mavericks. In their most recent contest, the Hornets rolled the Knicks 109-88 at home on Monday night. Toronto was edged 112-111 on the road by Portland Monday night in their most recent contest. The Hornets own a 45-38 advantage in the all-time regular season series though the Raptors have taken seven of the last 10 meetings. In the most recent matchup, it was the Hornets taking a 99-96 road victory on February 28, 2020.
Charlotte Hornets Close Out Back-to-Back Set on the Road
Charlotte was in action at home on Wednesday night as they hosted the Mavericks in an interconference matchup. The Hornets entered Wednesday tied for the Southeast Division lead with Orlando with a 6-5 record and had won their last four games. Charlotte is 2-1 in the second game of back-to-back situations this season though they have been outscored in those games. The Hornets have averaged 110.3 points per game in those contests while allowing 112 points per game. Charlotte is 3-3 on the road, scoring an average of 110.8 points per game while allowing 111.5 points per contest. The Hornets are 4-3 against Eastern Conference opponents: they average 108.1 points per game while allowing 108.1 points per contest in those games.Life above the rim ✈️@MilesBridges | @HornetsOnFSSE pic.twitter.com/PrItXjObwA
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) January 12, 2021
On the season, Charlotte is 24th in the league in scoring offense as they put up an average of 108.5 points per game this season. The Hornets are 19th in the league with 43.8 rebounds per contest and lead the league with 28.9 assists per game this season. Charlotte is 8th in the league in scoring defense as they allow an average of 107.5 points a night on the year. Terry Rozier is second on the team with 19.5 points per game on the year. Gordon Hayward puts up a team-leading 22.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and four assists per contest while LaMelo Ball chips in 12.4 points, seven rebounds and six assists a night. P.J. Washington (11.9 points, 6.1 rebounds) and Devonte’ Graham (11.6 points, 6.5 assists) all average in double figures. Bismack Biyombo, Miles Bridges, Caleb Martin, Jalen McDaniels and Cody Martin are key rotation players for Charlotte this season. Cody Zeller will be a factor but he suffered a broken thumb in the opener against Cleveland and remains out. The Hornets are 19th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 44.9 percent from the floor as a team on the year. Charlotte is 14th by knocking down an average of 13.1 three-pointers a night while the team is 12th in three-point shooting as they connect on 36.7 percent from beyond the arc. The Hornets are 21st in free throw shooting as they hit 74.5 percent of their attempts at the stripe.
Toronto Raptors Continuing to Struggle in Season’s First Month
Toronto lost for the fifth time in the last six games and suffered their second straight one-point defeat as they fell on the road at Portland. The Raptors dropped to 2-8 on the year and are in the basement of the Atlantic Division, five games behind the Celtics and 76ers for the top spot. Against Portland, Toronto led most of the way before letting it slip away. The Raptors were up 11 after the opening quarter and held a 52-35 edge with 6:53 to play in the first half only to see the Trail Blazers close the half on a 20-8 run to get within five. Toronto led by 10 after three quarters and by 13 with 8:39 to play before crumbling. The Raptors trailed by four with 1:48 to play, took the lead at 111-110 with 53.9 seconds to go on a Pascal Siakam dunk and gave up the winning bucket to CJ McCollum with 9.6 seconds to play. Toronto shot 44.9 percent from the field, including 19 of 47 from three-point range, but turned the ball over 15 times. Siakam led the Raptors with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in the loss.01/11/2021 - Raps v Trailblazers @TangerineHoops Game Highlights
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) January 12, 2021
📺: https://t.co/Y77A186rYj pic.twitter.com/QxAzInBUm3
On the season, Toronto stands 18th in scoring offense as they put up an average of 111.1 points per game this season. The Raptors are 21st in rebounding with 43.5 boards a night while they are 19th by dishing out an average of 23.6 assists a night. Toronto stands 19th in scoring defense as they allow an average of 112.5 points a night. Fred VanVleet leads the team with 20.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists a night. Pascal Siakam puts up 20.4 points plus 8.8 rebounds per game while Kyle Lowry adds 19 points and 6.7 assists per game. OG Anunoby (12.6 points) and Chris Boucher (14.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.6 blocks) are averaging in double figures. Norman Powell (10.5 points), Matt Thomas, Terence Davis, Aron Baynes and Alex Len are all looked at to help Nick Nurse’s squad. The Raptors are 26th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 44 percent from the floor as a team. Toronto stands fourth by knocking down 15.6 three-pointers a night while they are 14th in three-point field goal percentage as they sink 36.4 percent of their attempts on the season.
Team Trends
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The top trends for this contest are:
- Hornets are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall
- Hornets are 16-4-1 ATS in their last 21 road games vs. a team with a losing home record
- Raptors are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 home games
- Raptors are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 Thursday games
- Raptors are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record
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