Raptors vs. Hornets: A Fun Basketball Game in the USA

Since nothing of note is happening in America today, why not tune in to watch the Raptors and Hornets engage in a basketball contest? I'd say that sounds pretty good, on this, a rather boring humdrum day.

The Raptors and Hornets have, for whatever reason, been locked into a fairly one-sided feud over the past few years. Even though the team from Charlotte has been mostly bad, they've always seemed to have the Raptors number. But since this designation has clearly moved onto the Bulls, Toronto has been able to step it up a notch. Case in point: the Raps actually won the last meeting between these two teams, a tightly fight contest in Charlotte.

Bad news for the Raptors though: it sounds like Patrick Patterson is unlikely to play. Meanwhile, Lucas Nogueira is in the midst of the league's concussion protocol, which means he's still sitting out. That is approximately 50 percent of the Raptors' frontcourt so far this season.

But wait, some good news! (We could all use some good news, right? No reason.) As it turns out, DeMarre Carroll will play tonight, even with a sore neck. His scary collision with teammate Pascal Siakam's knee did not do as much harm as we originally thought.

And of course, the big man, number zero, Jared Sullinger will presumably play again tonight. He's still on a minutes limit, and clearly playing his way into game shape, but his role on the team is needed now more than ever.

For some more details on all of this, check out Matt Teague's preview from earlier today. And then, as always, let's get in the comments.