Lakers at Hornets
The race for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference remains wide open and the Charlotte Hornets can help their cause Tuesday with a win against the visiting Los Angeles Lakers. The Hornets headed into the week in a three-way virtual tie for eighth with the Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets and just a half game behind the seventh-place Miami Heat. The Lakers are guaranteed their second straight losing season for first time since 1992-94.
The Lakers won the last meeting against Charlotte, but that was way back on Nov. 7 when Los Angeles ended a five-game losing streak to start the season. The Lakers missed a chance to stretch their winning streak to four games when they lost Sunday against the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder, who were playing without stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Los Angeles backup point guard Jeremy Lin is averaging 17 points in the last five games and shooting 30-for-60 from the floor in that span.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TWC SportsNet (Los Angeles), SportsSouth (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE LAKERS (16-42): Jordan Clarkson is coming off a break-out month of February in which he averaged 13.8 points and shot 47.7 percent from the floor. He shot 21-for-33 during the three-game winning streak that wrapped up last month, but took a step back in Sunday’s loss to the Thunder, connecting on 5-of-14 from the floor and scoring 12 points. He and Lin have done enough in their roles lately that coach Byron Scott figures to stick with Clarkson as the starter and Lin the backup for the foreseeable future..
ABOUT THE HORNETS (24-33): Charlotte welcomed a key player back Sunday when Bismack Biyombo returned after missing 11 games with a bruised knee. He had reached double figures in rebounding in four of six games before he went down, highlighted by a 12-point, 15-rebound, five-block performance in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Jan. 14. The player who should benefit the most from Biyombo’s return is veteran center Al Jefferson, whose season field-goal percentage sits at 48, which would be the lowest of his 11-year career.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. This will be the 50th all-time meeting between the Lakers and Hornets, with Los Angeles owning a 32-17 advantage coming into the game.
2. The Los Angeles reserves have outscored their counterparts in 30 of the last 33 games.
3. Lakers F Jordan Hill has a career-best 18 double-doubles this season.