Mavericks-Hornets Preview

The Charlotte Hornets will have to do something they have struggled to do in recent years: win without center Cody Zeller.

Zeller suffered a broken right hand Monday night in a 125-100 win over the Orlando Magic and is expected to miss several games, starting with Wednesday night's home game against the Dallas Mavericks.

Charlotte (18-18) is 27-43 in the past two-plus seasons when playing without Zeller, who is averaging 9.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Starting shooting guard Jeremy Lamb (15.3 points per game) suffered a strained right hamstring Monday night and did not finish the game. The Hornets announced Wednesday morning that Lamb would also sit against the Mavs.

"That's the way this league goes," said Hornets guard Kemba Walker. "Guys get hurt. We're playing a pretty physical sport, ... and next man up. That's how it has to be."

Charlotte has mix-and-match options at center, including Willy Hernangomez, Frank Kaminsky and Bismack Biyombo, as well as 6-foot-9 forward Marvin Williams, who has seen minutes in the middle in smaller lineups.

Dallas (17-19) enters the game with a 2-16 road record and is coming off a 122-102 loss at Oklahoma City on Monday night, when they committed 29 turnovers. The Mavericks had defeated the Thunder a night earlier in Dallas but have lost eight of their past 10 games.

"Usually, you can find some kind of positives," coach Rick Carlisle said. "But right now we have to fixate on taking better care of the ball."

This will be the first of two games this season between Dallas and Charlotte, which will be getting its first look at star rookie Luka Doncic, who is averaging 19.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists. Doncic's scoring leads the Mavs, who have six players in double figures, including Harrison Barnes (18.4).

Second-year point guard Dennis Smith Jr. (13.1 points per game) is another young bright spot for Dallas.

"We've got to make 2019 a (heck) of a year," Carlisle said. "And it's going to be work."

Charlotte has ample firepower to match the Mavericks, with improved scoring being a key reason it has moved up in the Eastern Conference standings from a year ago. The Hornets are averaging 113.7 points per game, which is a 5.5-point gain from last season.

Walker poured in 47 points in a loss at Washington on Saturday, and he followed up with 24 points in less than three quarters in the rout of the Magic, hitting 10 of 16 from the field. Walker is averaging 25.8 points per game, which would be a career high for the eighth-year point guard.

With Lamb out for the second half Monday night, coach James Borrego started rookie Devonte' Graham in the backcourt with Walker. Graham is averaging 3.7 points in 16 games, but he has played nearly a combined 46 minutes in the past two games, his most active stretch of the season. He scored 10 points in the third quarter Monday night.

"Devonte' is a really good player, man," Walker said. "We just need him to be aggressive. He doesn't have to be out there always looking for me. I tell him that all the time. He's got to be out there to make plays. He's a rook and stuff like that, but it's time to grow up."