Lakers vs. Hornets Preview and Game Thread: A tough week ahead

The Lakers will play six games in the next 10 days, starting with the visiting Hornets on Wednesday.

Fresh off the All-Star break, the Lakers begin the second half of the season with a tough schedule. They begin at home against the Charlotte Hornets, the first night of a back-to-back. The purple and gold are also looking to complete a season sweep against Charlotte.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Charlotte Hornets

When: 7 PST, Feb 19

Where: Crypto.com Arena

Watch: Spectrum Sportsnet

---

The Lakers couldn’t ask for a better time for the All-Star break because not only did the team get to heal up, but they also could prepare for what’s expected to be one of their toughest stretches of the year. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the purple and gold have a challenging nearly two weeks ahead because they’re about to play six games in the next 10 days.

In those six games, four will be against teams they’re fighting against for playoff positioning in the Western Conference. Suffice it to say that this week until the middle of March —when L.A.’s strength of schedule gets even tougher — is where we will truly know whether the Lakers are contenders or pretenders.

Their first game after the All-Star break will be against the same Hornets team that attempted to trade their center Mark Williams to the Lakers only for that to be rescinded due to a failed physical test. While that issue remains fresh, it seems no action will follow after NBA commissioner Adam Silver clarified over the weekend that the Hornets have not submitted a formal protest about the failed trade.

So, while that’s now settled, the focus shifts to winning Wednesday’s game without possibly LeBron James, who might not be available for this one or Thursday’s match versus the Portland Trail Blazers. It doesn’t seem like James’ injury is serious but more so just something that he and the Lakers are careful about.

Even if the Lakers don’t have James on Wednesday, they should still be able to beat the Hornets, who entered the All-Star break on a three-game losing streak. The Hornets have only won 13 times this season and still have a bottom-tier offense. As I mentioned in my last preview against them less than a month ago, their only chance to win games is through their defense, which is actually above average.

The key for the Lakers is to contain LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges. This is the game where we can evaluate whether the Lakers’ defense — which trended up right after Anthony Davis went down due to injury — is for real or just an anomaly. It’ll also be nice to see Luka Dončić have his best game as a Laker, especially since JJ Redick confirmed that the Slovenian native will no longer be under a minute restriction.

But knowing that this is the first night of a back-to-back, the Lakers should attack this game with force and play smart enough to know they must finish this one as early as possible. Let’s see if the purple and gold start their tough schedule ahead with a victory before they go on the road.

Notes and Updates

• Before we get to the injury report, one important fact to remember moving forward is that L.A. has the third-hardest schedule left. Here’s a nice rundown of where every team ranks in that regard:

• For the Lakers’ injury report, this has got to be the shortest in a minute with LeBron James (left foot soreness) listed as questionable and Maxi Kleber (right foot surgery recovery) expectedly noted as out.
• It’s good news that Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent, who didn’t play against the Utah Jazz, will return to the floor. Same goes with Jaxson Hayes, who left that game with a face injury.
• As for the Hornets, LaMelo Ball (right ankle soreness) and Mark Williams (return to competition conditioning) are listed as probable. Meanwhile, Tre Mann (disc herniation), Brandon Miller (right wrist ligament), Josh Okogie (left hamstring strain) and Grant Williams (ACL recovery) are out.
• We will be live on Playback for this game, so be sure to join us!

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.