Preview: Suns Need Statement Win vs Hornets

Who: Charlotte Hornets at Phoenix Suns
What: NBA Regular Season Action
When: Thursday, Nov. 12 at 7:00 pm
Where: Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, AZ

The Phoenix Suns are back in the win column and are hoping to piece together a statement game as the Charlotte Hornets come to town.

The Suns won't have many opportunities to put their foot on the gas and throttle opponents this season, though the struggling Hornets very much opens the door for that opportunity.

Phoenix has a 73% chance of victory tonight per ESPN's basketball index, and rightfully so. Not only are they a more talented side — they're a healthier team at the moment as well. All of Kon Knueppel (left hamstring strain), Brandon Miller (right hip strain) and Dennis Schroder (left hamstring strain) are out for the Hornets while the Suns have a clean injury report outside of the recovering Mark Williams.

Charlotte is the worst offense team in the NBA, ranking dead-last in the following categories: offensive rating, points per game, assists per game, true shooting percentage, effective field goal percentage, turnover ratio and assist to turnover ratio.

They also are just 28th in pace, which matches Phoenix's 25th mark. That should play into the favor of the Suns in terms of tempo.

Where the Hornets could surprise is on the glass, as they're sixth in team rebounds per game but rank first in offensive and defensive rebound percentage. That's been a glaring weakness of Phoenix's early season struggles, and if the Suns are lazy tonight, the Hornets could very well stick around.

That's how Charlotte upset the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this week, as they're coming off a win (and few days rest) after outrebounding Cleveland 49-32.

A few familiar faces are returning to Phoenix in Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale, who were traded to the Hornets for Miles Bridges earlier this summer. Allen led Charlotte in scoring against the Cavaliers with 27 points, which included 6-12 from three-point land.

For many reasons, tonight's a statement game for the Suns. Phoenix not only has the opportunity to defeat a clearly inferior squad, but also will be able to slightly more justify the Bridges trade as the two sides of that deal finally face each other.

Perhaps more than anything, crashing the glass has been somewhat of an issue for Phoenix. Against arguably the league's best rebounding team, tonight's an opportunity to flip the script.