The Lakers (24-14) will remain at home where they will host the Charlotte Hornets (14-26) on Thursday. LA is looking to sweep the season series against Charlotte, who are entering this one losers of six of their last 10 games.<\/p>\n
Start time and TV schedule<\/p>\n
Who:\u00a0Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>\u00a0vs. Charlotte Hornets<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n When:\u00a07:30 p.m. PT, Jan. 15<\/p>\n Where: Crypto.com Arena<\/p>\n Watch: Spectrum Sportsnet<\/p>\n In the Lakers\u2019 most recent game\u00a0against the Hawks, they put together\u00a0one of their best performances\u00a0of the season. It\u2019s as if they played like they knew losing was unacceptable and that they were determined to turn their trajectory around. The result? A blowout game in their favor.<\/p>\n The Lakers\u2019 performance on Tuesday night begs the question: Why can\u2019t they play like that consistently?<\/p>\n If they did, they wouldn\u2019t be in jeopardy of falling down the Western Conference standings. Hopefully, that\u2019s something the purple and gold realized after their most recent victory against the Hawks.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The Hornets are coming off a tough loss versus the LA Clippers, who they kept up with for most of the game. However, their defense ultimately collapsed, which isn\u2019t surprising given that they\u2019re ranked 22nd in that department in the league.<\/p>\n Like it has been for the most part over the last six years, Charlotte runs its offense through LaMelo Ball. It would be ideal if the Lakers contained him early, because when that happens, the Hornets don\u2019t have a second superstar to turn to.<\/p>\n They have role players like Miles\u00a0Bridges, Kon\u00a0Knueppel, and Brandon\u00a0Miller who can get hot at any time, but if they don\u2019t, they\u2019re pretty much a below-average team.<\/p>\n Still, Charlotte is capable of having outlier performances. Note that they attempt the fifth-most 3-pointers in the league (41.2) and convert them at a high rate (37%), so expect a lot of 3-pointers from them. They\u2019re also better than than the Lakers at rebounding the ball and controlling the pace.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The good news for Los Angeles is that Charlotte has no answer for Luka Don\u010di\u0107 or LeBron James. Let\u2019s see if the Lakers can take advantage of that and make it two wins in a row.<\/p>\n Notes and Updates<\/p>\n The Lakers\u2019 injury report states that Jaxson Hayes (left hamstring soreness) is questionable.<\/p>\n Austin Reaves (left calf strain) and Adou Thiero (right MCL sprain) are out.<\/p>\n For the Hornets, Moussa Diabate (right hip soreness) is questionable, as well as Collin Sexton (left hamstring soreness). Mason Plumlee (right groin surgery) is out.<\/p>\n You can follow Nicole on Twitter at\u00a0@nicoleganglani<\/a>.<\/p>\n