Wizards-Hornets preview: Washington and Charlotte limp into Friday night matchup

The Hornets find themselves in a familiar position tonight, coming off a bad loss and playing the Washington Wizards on Friday night. Charlotte was able to have their way with the Wizards a week ago, dominating with outside shooting and holding a lackluster Washington offense to 86 points. This time both teams may be missing key players, as Lance Stephenson, Kemba Walker and Gerald Henderson may be sidelined by the Hornets, while Rice Jr., Bradley Beal, Martell Webster and Kris Humphries will miss the game for Washington.

Where and When

Tonight's game will be at Verizon Center at 7:00 PM. It will be broadcast locally on television on CSN and on the radio at 99.1 FM and 1500 AM.

Can the Wizards stop the Hornets from the perimeter?

The Wizards had no answer for Charlotte on the outside last week, as Gary Neal's and P.J. Hairston's three point shooting helped the Hornets build a lead they would not relinquish  Neal led all players with 19 points, and fellow guards Kemba Walker, Hairston and Jannero Pargo all scored in double digits for the Hornets, who are 2-2 in the preseason. The Wizards weakness of guarding the three point line showed again against Maccabi Haifi, as they allowed the Israeli squad to hit 12 of 21 from beyond the arc.  Thus far in the preseason, the Wizards have allowed 25 more threes during preseason than they have made.

The Otto Porter Show

Otto figures to get plenty of time tonight on the heels of his stat stuffing performance against Maccabi Haifa on Wednesday. Porter has looked like a different player than the hesitant, deer in the headlights player he appeared to be during his rookie campaign. Injuries that have depleted Washington's depth will give him an opportunity to showcase his talents early this year. It's possible that  Otto will play at the two this year in the absence of Bradley Beal and Martell Webster, an experiment that may start tonight as Glen Rice Jr. will miss the game with a sprained ankle.

Will the Wizards get Offensive?

Washington has failed to score more than 91 points in any of their preseason games against NBA teams so far. Their starters have been particularly bad offensively, shooting just 40% from the floor and 17% from three.  The Wizards have manage to overcome this with strong defense and effective bench play, but at some point it would be nice to see the starters show some offensive firepower.  Tonight would be a great time to start.

Oh, and let's not forget, they stole our G-Man! Revenge game!