National Basketball Association

Charlotte Hornets Look to Bounce Back Against King James and the Cavs

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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After a close loss to the Raptors, the Charlotte Hornets will try to rebound against the defending NBA champions in the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Charlotte Hornets look to shake off their heart breaking loss against the Toronto Raptors with their next challenge against the Cleveland Cavaliers. One of the key match-ups in this contest will be the battle at point guard. Duke product, Kyrie Irving, has long been considered one of the NBA’s elite point guards.

Coming off of a 40 point, 10 rebound, and six assist performance against Toronto, Kemba Walker is making a strong case for elite status himself. This pair of dynamic point guards is currently 11th and 12th in the NBA in scoring. Kemba is 11th at 25.9 points per game, and Kyrie is 12th at 24.5.

Cleveland Cavaliers (7-1) at Charlotte Hornets (6-2)

7:00 PM EST, Sunday, November 13th, 2016

Spectrum Center

TV – Fox Sports Southeast

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Defensive keys

As the Charlotte Hornets face LeBron James, one of the greatest small forwards in NBA history, they may be without their defensive stand out at small forward in Micheal Kidd-Gilchrist who is listed as questionable for this game against the Cavs. Hopefully, he will be able to play. If not, the job of slowing down The King will fall to Nicolas Batum. Nic is a formidable defender in his own right but not at the level of MKG. The Hornets ability to slow down King James along with Kyrie are sure to be Coach Clifford’s defensive focus.

Hopefully, he will be able to play. If not, the job of slowing down The King will fall to Nicolas Batum. Nic is a formidable defender in his own right but not at the level of MKG. The Hornets ability to slow down King James along with Kyrie are sure to be Coach Clifford’s defensive focus.

Offensive Keys

Kemba is the engine that makes the team go. However, for Charlotte to be successful against an NBA juggernaut like the Cavs, Kemba is going to need a lot of help. That help starts with Nic Batum. One of the reasons MKG is such an essential piece for the Hornets, is his ability to guard the opposing team’s best Wing which allows Nic to focus more on offense.

Charlotte needs a big game from Kemba, Nic, the rest of the starters and the bench as well. They aren’t expected to win and beating the Cavs is a tough task for any team in the league but if they play as a team, the Hornets may be able to pull it off.

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