Fearless predictions: Old-school DeMar DeRozan leads Raptors into road game vs. Hornets

Five fearless predictions for Wednesday’s Charlotte Hornets game against the Toronto Raptors:

1. The mid-range shot matters more

Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan breaks the NBA’s trend toward 3 point-centric scorers. He is a throwback to a time when the optimum NBA shot was the mid-range jump shot.

2. Kemba Walker makes a 3.

Doesn’t sound like a bold prediction, except Walker is 0-of-13 from 3-point range in his past two games. Looks like that left wrist injury might be a factor.

3. Heads up, no hangdog

Center Dwight Howard correctly observed the Hornets were hanging their heads when things got tough lately. A blowout of the Knicks should lift some moods.

4. It’s on Howard

The Raptors are top-10 in scoring and field-goal percentage, without being strong from the 3-point line. That puts extra focus on Howard being a rim protector Wednesday.

5. The final score

Containing Toronto’s offense might be too much to ask right now of these Hornets, but a winning streak would be nice for the holidays. Raptors 114, Hornets 105

This story was originally published December 19, 2017 at 11:39 AM with the headline "Fearless predictions: Old-school DeMar DeRozan leads Raptors into road game vs. Hornets."