Celtics' defense meets a Hornets offense ranked last in the league

The Boston Celtics (6-2) visit the Charlotte Hornets (3-6) at 7 p.m. ET Friday, bringing a top-10 defense against the league's worst offense, with Charlotte on a five-game losing streak.

Charlotte scores 100.5 points per 100 possessions and posts a true shooting of 52.1%, both last in the league. Boston allows 108.2 per 100, eighth, so the Hornets' weakest unit meets one of the East's steadier defenses.

Turnovers widen the gap. The Celtics force them on 14.5% of opponent possessions, seventh, while Charlotte gives the ball away on 16.2% of its own, third-worst. Every loose pass hands Boston an extra trip.

No team shoots threes more often than Charlotte, with 51.2% of its shots from deep, but the misses pile up. Its effective field-goal percentage of 48.1 ranks 29th.

The glass is the Hornets' one opening. They grab 31.4% of their own misses, seventh, against a Boston team that ranks 24th in defensive rebounding. Moussa Diabate drives that edge with 9.1 rebounds a game, more than half on the offensive end. He is questionable, as is Dennis Schroder, who leads the team with 4.8 assists.

Jayson Tatum runs Boston's offense with 27 points and 7.9 assists a game. Neemias Queta anchors the middle with 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. Brandon Miller leads Charlotte at 22 points a game but shoots 35.9% from the field.

The Hornets are short in the rotation. Kon Knueppel, who plays 31.4 minutes a game, Grant Williams, PJ Hall and Christian Anderson are out, along with three more reserves.

Boston lists Payton Pritchard, at 26.7 minutes a night, as questionable. Devin Carter and Dillon Mitchell are out, along with two others.

Neither team runs. Charlotte plays at the slowest pace in the league and Boston ranks 28th, so possessions will be scarce and each turnover weighs more. During the skid, Charlotte lost 124-91 at home to Detroit and 95-79 at Washington. Boston comes in off a 109-102 win over Milwaukee.

Tip-off is Friday, November 6, in Charlotte. Sportsbooks' prices give Boston a 74% chance to win; Keel's projection puts it at 72%, with the Celtics by 7.3 points.