Predicting the Hornets' upcoming brutal five-game stretch

Miami has dominated matchups with the Hornets recently, winning eight out of the last nine. Both ball clubs already met once this season, when the hosting Heat trampled a lifeless Charlotte squad 144-117.

Despite shooting 40% from three, LaMelo Ball and company were pretty much out of it from the second quarter onwards. Turnovers and defensive lapses, as so often this year, were the major concerns.

It's hard to imagine things will look that much better now that LaMelo might be out. But it's also hard to imagine the Heat scoring over 140 points again. So for this one, it'd be fair to expect a better effort, even though it will most likely result in another loss to a Miami team that has more scoring prowess.

vs Los Angeles Lakers (7-2 | Monday, Nov. 10, 7 pm)

The Lakers, who many predicted to struggle out of the gates without LeBron James, have been one of the best teams in the league so far. Their offense, largely operated by the once again incredible Luka Doncic, has found large success capitalizing on turnovers and attacking the paint.

On the other hand, Los Angeles' defense is only so-so. Their rebounding, especially, is a weakness. Deandre Ayton remains one of the worst defensive board-getting bigs in the league, and the Hornets are yet to lose a team-rebounding battle this year, currently sitting at 8-0.

Still, even with some offensive boards and second-chance points, the key to snagging this one will be to somewhat contain Lukas's cohorts, especially Austin Reaves (31.1ppg). If that gets done, a win isn't out of reach.

vs Milwaukee Bucks (5-3 | Wednesday, Nov. 12, 7 pm)
@ Milwaukee Bucks (5-3 | Friday, Nov. 14, 8 pm)

There are no sure-fire wins to be found in this five-game stretch. But the closest thing would probably be getting one of the two games against Milwaukee.

The Bucks have one of, if not the best, players in the world in Giannis Antetokounmpo. They have a defensive stalwart in Myles Turner and possess as much firepower from three-point range as arguably no other team in the NBA.

But they also have some clear-cut weaknesses, and most of them can be found in their bench lineups. Led by Bobby Portis, the backups have put up almost no resistance defensively and looked very streaky offensively.

Winning both against Milwaukee is probably not possible simply from an overall quality standpoint, but sneaking one out behind good performances off the bench by Tre Mann and Collin Sexton is doable.

vs Oklahoma City Thunder (8-1 | Saturday, Nov. 15, 7 pm)

If this exact game were to be played a hundred times, the Hornets would probably win five of those at most. That's not only because Charlotte is the far inferior team on the second night of a back-to-back, but also because OKC has simply been a different beast this season.

The reigning champs have somehow stepped their game up again on both ends of the court, even without Jalen Williams and a semi-available Chet Holmgren. It's an NBA regular-season contest in the end, and weirder things have happened. But that's about as optimistic as you could approach this.

Overall prediction: 1 win, 4 losses

I firmly believe this Hornets team can win at least one of their next five if LaMelo Ball suits up. It will probably be one of the two against Milwaukee. In the best case, they also snatch either the Miami or Los Angeles game.

In the worst case, which is not all that unlikely, they go 0-5 and fall to 3-10. In any case, this stretch will tell you a lot about this Hornets squad. Not through the results, but through the performances and effort.

The bigs should be strong on the boards against LA. The bench can find its offensive rhythm against the Bucks. The defense will once again be tested by Miami. And the team as a whole will need to play concentrated and crisp basketball against OKC.

There are opportunities to be had for everyone to shine. Let's see who takes them.

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