Preview: Hornets open two game series against Celtics – At The Hive

What: Charlotte Hornets (2-2) (1-1 home) vs Boston Celtics (4-1) (2-1 road)

When: 7:00pm Eastern

Where: Spectrum Center; Charlotte, NC

How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network, NBA League Pass

Outfitting: Hornets–Icon (teal), Celtics–Statement (black)

Game Lines: Hornets +11.5, O/U 232.5

Injuries:
Hornets: Brandon Miller-questionable (glute), Mark Williams-out (back), DaQuan Jeffries-out (hand)

Celtics: Sam Hauser-back (probable), Kristaps Porzingis-out (surgery)

The Hornets go into a weird quirk in their schedule this weekend. They play two games against the same team on back to back nights in the same venue. It’s almost like a baseball series. They’ll do the same thing again for the final two games of the season, though there’s a day off in between those.

The opponent is the defending champion Boston Celtics. They’ve spent an ungodly amount of money to keep that championship roster intact (and then put the team up for sale to make that someone else’s problem), and it looks like they’ve picked up right where they left off. They’re 4-1 and have the fourth best net rating in the season’s early goings. The only loss came in their last game, a contest against the Pacers that went into overtime.

Jayson Tatum has been hot out of the gates, averaging 30.2 points per game, fifth best in the league. The usual suspects are right behind him–Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday. Payton Pritchard has been a flamethrower off the bench.

If you don’t like 3-pointers, this won’t be the game for you. Hornets head coach Charles Lee was employed by the Celtics last year, and he brought a lot of their principles to Charlotte. The two teams are first and fourth in the league in 3-point attempts. They boast the second and fifth best offensive ratings. It has all the makings of a points fest, especially if the Hornets play defense as well as they did against the Raptors.

The Hornets might get Brandon Miller back for this game, and he’ll be a much needed boost. They need all the firepower they can get to keep up with the Celtics.