Preview: Portland Trail Blazers at Charlotte Hornets

The Portland Trail Blazers had perhaps their best defensive game of the season Thursday night against the Orlando Magic, holding them to under 80 points to win in comfortable fashion, 101-79. Anfernee Simons of Florida led the Blazers with 21 points. Now the Blazers will take on the Charlotte Hornets on short rest. However, the Blazers upgraded rookie Donovan Clingan to likely this morning.

The Hornets have had a rough season, losing 10 in a row at one point. Injuries have piled up along with losses, with some of their bigger names. Who actually dresses will be a big factor in this game. Despite that, Charlotte have somehow won three of their last four and four of their last six, but that seems like a bit of a mirage. Among Hornets fans, there certainly seems to be more consternation about winning and hurting draft odds than joy at getting some wins.

Portland Trail Blazers (16-28) at Charlotte Hornets (11-29) – Fri. January 24 – 4:00 PM Pacific

How to watch via antenna or cable: See yours opportunities on the Rip City Television Network

How to watch via streaming: BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington; League Pass everywhere else

Trail Blazers Injuries: Matisse Thybulle, Donovan Clingan (probable), Deandre Ayton (doubtful)

Hornet’s injuries: Tre Mann, Brandon Miller, Tidjane Salaun, KJ Simpson, Grant Williams (out), LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges (doubtful), Seth Curry, Cody Martin (probable)

What to look for

Will Charlotte win? The Hornets are a bad team with a lot of injuries. Despite that, they have won three of their last four. As Blazers fans understand, just because a team isn’t going anywhere doesn’t mean the team is going to tumble every night, and the franchise is certainly dreaming of a top draft pick. We’ll see if the Hornets see this as an opportunity to add to their 11 wins or a chance to take a night off.

Mark Williams. Williams is a 7-footer who has shown he can put up points against the right matchup. Wednesday is a good example, where he scored 38 points against Zach Edey while holding his opponent to seven points. If Clingan and Ayton are unavailable, Williams will have a significant height advantage that could cause Portland some problems.

Field Goal Percentage. Sometimes basketball analysis is easy. Why are the Hornets a bad team? The most obvious answer is that they can’t shoot anything worthwhile. They are shooting 43.1% from the field, worst in the NBA. Why have they won 3 out of the last 4? Mainly because they were tied for 5th in the NBA for field goal percentage over that stretch. One of the teams they tied for 5th is none other than your Portland Trail Blazers, who have also won 3 of their last 4. See? Sometimes these things are pretty straightforward.

What others say

With everything going wrong in Charlotte, Julia Coin of The Charlotte Observer gives an update on yet another distraction.

Joseph, who was 12 years old at the time, approached Ball for an autograph, McRae alleged in the May lawsuit. Then Ball sped off, she said, leaving Joseph on the ground with a broken foot. The family is asking for more than $25,000 in compensatory damages, plus any additional attorneys’ fees and court costs.

The Hornets filed the motion to be removed from the case four days after McRae’s attorney filed a notice announcing that the team’s senior director of security, Anthony Datcher, would be interviewed in a videotaped deposition.

Add another injury to Charlotte’s list.

The Charlotte Hornets announced today that guard Brandon Miller underwent surgery to repair a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist. The operation was performed by Dr. Michelle Carlson at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. Miller will miss the rest of the season and updates on his status will be provided as needed.

Nathaniel Puente of WCNC Charlotte reports that LaMelo Ball was snubbed as an All-Star starter.

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball was not named to the starting lineup despite leading the fan vote at his position and having an outstanding year.

Ball is second in the Eastern Conference in points per game. game (29), fourth in assists per game (7.5), and is tied for 11th place in steals per fight (1,4). Ball also leads the conference in 3-pointers per game. battle (4.2).