Hornets at Wizards live stream: How to watch online
By Ben Ladner
The Washington Wizards will host the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night. Here is how to watch this Eastern Conference NBA game online via live streaming.
A third of the NBA’s 30 teams will be in action on the final day of the month, including the Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets, who will kick off Sunday afternoon’s slate of games on NBA TV.
Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. EST on March 31, 2018 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. In addition being broadcast on NBA TV, the Wizards feed will also air on NBC Sports Washington, while Fox Sports Southeast-Charlotte will carry the Hornets broadcast. The game can also be streamed online via NBA League Pass and FuboTV.
With six games remaining on the schedule, the Hornets are all but eliminated from playoff contention. Charlotte has underperformed its point differential, and with the 14th-ranked offense and 16th-ranked defense, profiles as a team much closer to the playoffs than it actually is. Kemba Walker has had another fantastic season, and the Hornets’ starting lineup has a decidedly positive net rating in nearly 1000 minutes played. But production from other sources has been scarce, and ultimately has sunk the Hornets.
The Wizards, meanwhile, are locked into the middle of the playoff pack, with a chance to improve their seed over the final games of the season. They own the 10th-best offense and 14th-best defense in the NBA despite missing John Wall for a significant portion of the season. Bradley Beal has stepped up his production in Wall’s stead, but it’s taken an entirely collective effort by the Washington to ramp up its production the way it has.
Date: Saturday, March 31, 2018
Time: 3:00 p.m. EST
Location: Washington, D.C.
Venue: Verizon Center
TV Info: FSSE-CHA, NBCSWA
Live Stream: NBA League Pass, FuboTV
Washington could theoretically rise to third place in the East before the playoffs begin, though that seems extremely unlikely, and a fairly clear line of stratification has formed between the fifth-place Pacers and the sixth-place Wizards. Adding Wall back into the picture will require an adjustment period, one that they might not be able to afford should it be in a first-round series. But the promise of Wall’s return represents an upside that this team hasn’t had all season or, frankly, in its current era.
Charlotte remains stuck in the perilous middle ground between the playoffs and the tank race. It’s unclear if changes will — or need to be — made to this current group. Rumors of Walker being on the trading block abruptly came to an end before the trade deadline; Nic Batum had something of a lost season after battling injuries; Dwight Howard outperformed what anyone could have expected; and it still feels as though Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has upside to explore, even if he may never reach it. The final weeks of the season will present an opportunity for prospects like Malik Monk and Dwayne Bacon to gain experience, and perhaps offer some clarity as to what the Hornets are working with.