What: Charlotte Hornets (11-40) (6-21 home) vs. Indiana Pacers (30-24) (13-13 away)

When: 7:00pm Eastern

Where: Spectrum Center; Charlotte, N.C.

How to watch: Bally Sports Southeast, NBA League Pass

Outfitting: Hornets–Statement (purple), Pacers–Statement (yellow)

Game Lines: Hornets +16.5, O/U 238.5

Injury Report:

Hornets: LaMelo Ball (R ankle), OUT; Cody Martin (R knee), PROBABLE; Mark Williams (lower back), OUT.

Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring), GTD; Jalen Smith (back), OUT.

The post-Mitch Kupchak era has officially begun. This morning, it was reported that Kupchak will step down as president of basketball operations and transition to an advisory role within the front office.

The Charlotte Hornets will look to kick off a new era for the organization with a win tonight. It would be the second time this season the Hornets won consecutive games (Washington, Boston in late-Nov., 2023) and the fifth win overall since the turn of the calendar.

On paper, this matchup is as imbalanced as it gets; the Pacers come into tonight with the #1 offense while the Hornets tote the league’s worst defense and #28 offense. Thankfully, that #30 defensive rating and bottom-of-the-barrel offense are products of a team that no longer exists.

The new-look Hornets let up 106 points to Memphis on Saturday — they’d only allowed 106 or fewer four times previously. Bolstered by an 8-12 shooting performance from Vasilije Micic, the Hornets also shot 58% and made 16 threes in that game. Quibble over the caliber of opponent if you must, but it’s clear the trade deadline brought some juice to a team that had exactly none of it only a week ago.