The Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets meet Saturday bearing the load of disappointing seasons as well as the weight of all of the teams above them in the Eastern Conference standings.
While the Wizards have the NBA’s worst record at 10-48, the Hornets are second worst at 14-44. Three of Washington’s 10 victories came against Charlotte.
The Hornets are on a five-game losing streak after going 1-8 on an extended road trip that started Feb. 9 and continued after the All-Star break.
The Wizards have dropped seven of their past eight games, including a 129-121 home decision to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.
The Hornets fell 103-96 on the road against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday despite center Mark Williams providing 26 points and 16 rebounds. That was the closest losing margin for Charlotte across its past 10 defeats.
Without guard LaMelo Ball out for the past two games due to continued ankle issues, the Hornets have tweaked their lineup combinations even more.
Guard Nick Smith Jr. had a busy workload in February, logging at least 32 minutes in 10 of his 12 games during the month. He delivered a season-high seven assists to go with 12 points against the Mavericks.
“He has grown tremendously this season,” Charlotte coach Charles Lee said. “We’re seeing Nick take on a starting role. Defensively, his improvement has been game by game. His positioning, on-ball and off-ball defense and overall.”
Ball played twice in the past week with low production, providing five points on Feb. 22 at Portland and 13 points Monday at Sacramento. He shot a combined 4-for-23 (17.4 percent) from the field in those contests. Ball is listed as questionable to face Washington.
Washington is getting used to having veteran guard Marcus Smart on the roster. Smart has played in three games since he was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies, scoring 10 points in each of the past two outings.
“I think he’s like a Hall of Fame, Mount Rushmore guy that you hate to play against him, but you love to have him on your team,” Wizards forward Corey Kispert said. “So, I’m glad he’s with us.”
Smart hasn’t faced the Hornets since back-to-back games in mid-January 2023 when he was with Celtics. That season he averaged 15 points across three meetings with Charlotte.
There’s also the matter of the Wizards trying to put rookie forward Kyshawn George, a first-round pick in 2024, in more comfortable situations.
George has played a combined 120 minutes over the past four games while averaging eight points. He has been leaning on support from teammate Jordan Poole.
“Just sticking with it. It’s not a one-possession game, it’s not a two-possession game, it’s not a three-game year,” George said of the message from Poole. “Stay confident in your abilities, keep doing what you do.”
Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly just missed his season high when he scored 26 points when visiting Washington defeated Charlotte on Feb. 3. He shot 7-for-9 against the Trail Blazers, with his only two misses coming on 3-point attempts.
“He’s super-efficient in the paint,” Kispert said. “He makes the right decisions. He works a ton on his jump shot. We see it every day.”
–Field Level Media
