Golden State Warriors vs Charlotte Hornets Prediction: Slumping Warriors remain a threat at home

NBA is on and this has been another special season. Soon, we are going to head to the midseason and then largely a cosmetic All-Star Game but still a superb week of fun at All Star Weekend. But these are all theatrics, the main issue is the Regular Season as of now and for the defending champion Golden State Warriors, things are looking bleak. They will take on the Charlotte Hornets.

The Warriors come into this game with arguably their best win of the season as they defeated the much more loaded Grizzlies 123:109 behind an amazing 32 points outburst by Jordan Poole. This home win stopped a two-game losing streak and the Warriors have lost seven out of their last ten, currently having 18 losses and 16 wins. The team has also lost a bunch due to the absence of their best scorer Curry and their consistent Wing Andrew Wiggins.

Poole has scored 29 or more in three of the last four games(30+ twice), but the Warriors’ scoring balance from the last season is missing. Before, it was Curry, who had to post monster offensive numbers and perhaps that offensive pressure resulted in the current injury. Not having Wiggins hurt as the Warriors have no strong Forward off the bench while they lack the components off the bench even when the team is healthy. Will the Warriors make some trades?

The Hornets come into this game after losing 113:124 against the Trail Blazers despite a 27 points performance by Ball. This loss followed a win over the Lakers and the Hornets have won half of their last four games. Before that, they had undergone their second eight-game losing streak of the season and thus, they have an awful record with just 9 wins and a humungous 25 losses. The Hornets may look towards the trade market soon.

Things derailed due to LaMelo Ball’s early season injury and the team was held so much back that they couldn’t quite recover. Players like Kelly Oubre Jr and Terry Rozier are streaky shooters and if there isn’t a strong playmaker or defense around them, they tend to not bring winning results. The team is already depleted at the wing spot with Miles Bridges gone because of legal troubles. PJ Washington has folded under the pressure of starting and filling in for Miles. This season has to be one of the worst in the Hornets’ history after they had hit some strides last season.

• Warriors: Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala, Andrew Wiggins, JaMychal Green. PROBABLE: Draymond Green;
• Hornets: OUT: Cody Martin, Dennis Smith Jr.

• Expected Leading Scorers: Jordan Poole(30+ Points), LaMelo Ball(26-32 Points);
• Expected Leading Rebounders: Miles Plumlee(9-12 Rebounds), Kevon Looney(9-11 Rebounds);
• Expected Leading Playmakers: LaMelo Ball(6-9 Assists), Draymond Green(5-8 Assists).

The Warriors are still playing like champions when hosting teams, it is their road troubles that have relegated them to such a poor record. For the Hornets, the record has been too awful to look at and they have reached a boiling point where some trades can be pulled off or the draft lottery is peeked at with more intensity. As for this game, I expect the Warriors to come on top comprehensively. I predict a scoreline of 128:116 in their favor