Tip-off: Tuesday, 10:05 p.m. ET
Line: Portland -3.0, Total: 214.0

The Hornets will be looking to prevent a five-game losing streak when they face the Blazers in Portland on Tuesday.

The Hornets looked like one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams to start the season, but they are really struggling right now. Charlotte has lost four straight games and nine of its past 12, and this team could badly use a victory in Portland on Tuesday night. The Blazers aren’t going to be easy to beat, though. Portland is playing some excellent basketball right now, as the team has won three of its past four games heading into this one. The Blazers’ only loss in that span was a 113-111 defeat at the hands of the Warriors on Sunday night. Portland played well in that game, shooting 49.5% from the floor, but was unable to avoid picking up careless fouls. The Warriors shot 39 free throws in that game, and they buried 33 of them. If the Blazers can’t remain disciplined against the Hornets then they’ll likely suffer a similar result on Tuesday. These teams actually met very recently, as the Hornets beat the Blazers 107-85 as 5.5-point home favorites on Jan. 18. Portland is, however, an impressive 10-2 SU and 9-3 ATS when hosting Charlotte over the past three seasons. One trend that sticks out when looking at this game is that Charlotte is just 18-32 ATS in road games after a combined score of 205 points or more under head coach Steve Clifford. C Cody Zeller (Quad) is doubtful for the Hornets in this game and PF Ed Davis (Wrist) is doubtful for the Blazers.

If the Hornets are going to turn things around then they will need PG Kemba Walker (23.3 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.2 RPG, 1.2 SPG) to find his stroke. Walker is shooting just 39.4% from the floor and 27.5% from three over the past five games. Fortunately for Charlotte, he did somewhat get back on track against Sacramento on Saturday. Walker was 8-for-16 from the floor and 3-for-6 from three in that game, and the Hornets need him to become the player he was earlier in the season. His matchup with Damian Lillard is going to be fun to watch on Tuesday, but it’s absolutely crucial that Walker plays a solid game defensively. SF Nicolas Batum (14.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.1 SPG) will also need to play well in this matchup with his former team. Batum has had a hard time shooting the ball this season, making just 39.9% of his field goals and 33.5% of his threes. He is, however, shooting 44.0% from the outside over the past five games. If he can keep that up moving forward then the Hornets will be in a better place. They just need him to do a solid job on the defensive end as well. Where Charlotte really needs more production is from the center spot. One guy that could help them at that spot is PF Frank Kaminsky (9.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG). The Hornets have insisted on playing Kaminsky at the power forward position in his brief NBA career, but he is definitely better suited to play the five. He is too slow to guard other power forwards, and the Hornets need to realize that soon. Also, his ability to shoot the ball could come back with slower defenders having trouble closing out on him.

The Blazers are finally playing well, and it’s about time. After making the playoffs with a young team a year ago, Portland could not have possibly expected to be fighting for strictly an eight seed at this point in the year. The guy that has been really playing well for this Blazers team is SG C.J. McCollum (23.5 PPG, 3.6 APG, 3.6 RPG, 1.1 SPG). PG Damian Lillard (26.2 PPG, 5.9 APG, 4.7 RPG) might be the face of this franchise, but McCollum just might be the best player Portland has. Over the past five games, McCollum is averaging 24.2 PPG on 51.2% shooting from the floor and 42.9% shooting from three. Lillard and McCollum both struggled the last time they faced this Charlotte team, though. Each guy went 7-for-18 from the floor and 2-for-6 from three in that game, and the two of them will need to be a lot more efficient this time around. The Blazers can also use some solid wing production from both SGs Allen Crabbe (10.6 PPG) and Evan Turner (9.5 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 3.4 APG). On the inside, it’ll be C Mason Plumlee (11.2 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.2 BPG) that needs to step up. Plumlee has been great recently, though, recording a double-double in five straight games. Plumlee is actually coming very close to recording a triple-double for the first time in his career. He is a very good passer for a big man, and it’s only a matter of time before he accomplishes that feat. Perhaps it’ll happen on Tuesday against a Hornets team that is weak inside.