The Charlotte Hornets have been the talk of the NBA, with drama surrounding their star player, LaMelo Ball. They’re coming off a 94-87 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night, and they’re 5-5 in their last 10 games, sitting at 16-28 for the season.
They’re facing off against the Orlando Magic on January 22nd, at 7:00 PM. The Magic are 23-19 and are also 5-5 in their last 10 games.
The oddsmakers have the Magic as six-point favorites. Most expect the home team to take care of business today, so let’s dive into it.
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Is LaMelo Ball Playing Tonight Against The Orlando Magic?
LaMelo Ball is listed as questionable ahead of the Hornets’ matchup against the Magic with a thumb injury.
Ball is coming off one of the worst NBA performances I’ve ever witnessed, scoring two points on 1-15 from the field and 0-10 from three. Since 2020, amongst players who had 15-plus field goal attempts, he had the 5th lowest field goal percentage in a single game.
Listen, I’m as big a LaMelo as you’ll find, but this isn’t a one-off performance. He’s played fewer than 23 minutes in each of his last three contests, and he has gone 10-43 from the field and 3-25 from three, with only 4 free throw attempts.
This is a far cry from his 30-point performance on 9-17 from three against the Lakers on January 15th.
Charlotte Hornets Injury Report
LaMelo Ball: QUESTIONABLE (Thumb)
Tre Mann: OUT (Illness)
Mason Plumlee: OUT (Groin)
KJ Simpson: OUT (Hip)
Grant Williams: OUT (Hip)
Orlando Magic Injury Report
Colin Castleton: OUT (G League)
Jalen Suggs: OUT (Knee)
Franz Wagner: OUT (Ankle)
Charlotte Hornets Player Stats
LaMelo Ball Stats: GP 34, PTS 19.4, REB 5.0, AST 7.6, BLK 0.2
Brandon Miller Stats: GP 27, PTS 20.0, REB 4.3, AST 3.4, BLK 1.0
Kon Knueppel Stats: GP 43, PTS 19.1, REB 5.4, AST 3.5, BLK 0.2
Miles Bridges Stats: GP 43, PTS 18.9, REB 6.2, AST 3.5, BLK 0.5
Collin Sexton Stats: GP 35, PTS 14.8, REB 2.0, AST 4.0, BLK 0.1
Orlando Magic Player Stats
Paolo Banchero Stats: GP 32, PTS 20.9, REB 8.8, AST 5.0, BLK 0.7
Franz Wagner Stats: GP 26, PTS 22.2, REB 6.1, AST 3.6, BLK 0.3
Desmond Bane Stats: GP 42, PTS 18.9, REB 4.5, AST 4.5, BLK 0.5
Anthony Black Stats: GP 42, PTS 15.9, REB 4.1, AST 4.0, BLK 0.6
Jalen Suggs Stats: GP 23, PTS 15.0, REB 3.7, AST 4.7, BLK 0.5
Hornets vs. Magic Head-to-Head Record
The Orlando Magic hold a narrow edge of 67-61 in the all-time regular-season series against the Charlotte Hornets.
There have been no playoff matchups between the Magic and Hornets in NBA history, as both franchises have spent much of their time in rebuilding phases or fighting for lower playoff seeds.
This season, we’ve already seen this matchup twice, with the Magic winning on October 30th, 123-107, and the Hornets winning on December 26th, 120-105.