Charlotte Hornets

Charlotte Hornets Gameday: at Los Angeles Clippers

Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker is having his best season as a pro. Saturday, Walker will line up against Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul.
Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker is having his best season as a pro. Saturday, Walker will line up against Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul. rlahser@charlotteobserver.com

3:30 p.m, Staples Center

TV: Fox Sports Southeast Radio: WFNZ-AM 610.

Projected Starters

Hornets

Clippers

Pos, Player

PPG

RPG

Pos, Player

PPG

RPG

G K. Walker

19.5

4.3

G C. Paul

17.6

3.5

TBD

G J. Redick

15.9

1.5

F P. Hairston

6.1

2.5

F W. Johnson

6.0

2.0

F M. Williams

9.5

6.7

F L. A Moute

2.4

2.1

C C. Zeller

8.8

5.7

C D. Jordan

11.5

13.3

Matchup to Watch

Kemba Walker vs. Chris Paul: Walker is having his best season as a pro. Paul is chasing a title in a Western Conference dominated of late by the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs.

Observations

▪  The Clippers are playing without Blake Griffin, who suffered a partially torn quad muscle.

▪  The Hornets are on an Eastern Conference-worst five-game losing streak. Coach Steve Clifford says his team has stopped caring about defense of late.

Tap-ins

▪  Hornets shooting guard Nic Batum has been out three games with a sprained toe on his right foot. He has targeted the Clippers game for his return.

▪  The Hornets have a difficult back-to-back, flying to Denver after this game to play the Nuggets Sunday in high altitude before returning to Charlotte.

Did you know?

The Clippers have won nine of the last 10 games in this series.

Rick Bonnell

This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Charlotte Hornets Gameday: at Los Angeles Clippers."

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