The visiting Toronto Raptors bid for a three-game season sweep of the Hornets when the teams meet Friday in Charlotte, N.C.
The teams also are heading in different directions. The Raptors went into the All-Star break on a 9-2 roll, while the Hornets were mired in a 1-9 funk.
The Raptors posted a 125-113 win over the Hornets in Toronto on Jan. 25. They beat them again 116-101 on Feb. 7 at Charlotte.
Toronto is gearing up for what is expected to be an intense stretch run in a tight race for playoff spots.
“Building the team up the way we’ve built it up, I think there’s probably got to be a shift towards more playoff basketball as we get to the tail end of the season, and what that will look like,” Raptors All-Star guard Fred VanVleet told the Toronto Star. “We’ll get to some more packages. Coach (Nick Nurse) is pretty good with that, having a game plan for the season. You would like to start sharpening up as the end of March, April comes.”
The way the Raptors have been playing indicates only some tinkering might not be needed.
“I think for the most part we are who we’re going to be,” VanVleet said. “It’s more so attention to detail and just guys settling into their roles, and kind of getting into a better rhythm offensively and defensively where we don’t have to experiment as much. We know what we’ve got; we’ve just got to put it together the best way we see fit.”
VanVleet had six points and three assists in his first All-Star Game. The club listed him as questionable for Friday due to right knee soreness
The Hornets entered the break with a tough home loss to the Miami Heat on Feb. 17. They led by 14 points in the fourth quarter before losing 111-107 in double overtime.
The Hornets felt that they were hurt by an officiating mistake. Miami guard Kyle Lowry’s shot with 2:02 remaining in the first overtime was ruled a 3-pointer, although replays showed his right foot was inside the line. That gave Miami a 92-91 lead.
“I saw that it was a two,” Hornets forward Miles Bridges told the Charlotte Observer. “I asked the ref, I said, ‘Y’all can’t check that or switch it?’ And they said it was two possessions ago, so it was past the time where they could go back and change it. But that was definitely big. We could have won the game, but it didn’t go our way.”
Charlotte guard LaMelo Ball is coming off his first All-Star appearance. The 20-year-old had 18 points, three assists, three rebounds and three steals.
“It was amazing,” Ball said. “I feel blessed. It was just a great experience.”
Charlotte listed Cody Martin (left ankle/Achilles) as probable for Friday’s game. Jalen McDaniels (left ankle sprain) and Nick Richards (right foot soreness) are listed as doubtful and Gordon Hayward (left ankle) remains out.
Pascal Siakam had 24 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in Toronto’s win over Charlotte on Feb. 7. Ball had 15 points and nine assists for the Hornets, who shot 41.1 percent from the field and 22.5 from 3-point range in that game.
“We just have to start finding that rhythm offensively,” Hornets coach James Borrego said after the game. “The 3-ball has dried up obviously, but that is OK. It will come back to us. Until then we have to find our offense through our defense.”
