Not even a blizzard can stop NBA basketball. The San Antonio Spurs are traveling to Charlotte for a game against the Hornets, with record snowfall expected to hit the city. For that reason, the game was
pushed up to 11 a.m. CT to avoid the snow. Luckily, the game is played indoors, and the weather won’t impact the play on the court (that’s a shot at the NFL).
The Spurs will face the Hornets after a big comeback win against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. Don’t let their record fool you, the Hornets are just as tough as one of San Antonio’s Western Conference rivals. Charlotte has won five straight games and has the 6th-best offensive rating in the NBA. The Hornets have run teams off the court with their scoring, and blownout teams by 30+ this season. San Antonio has an elite defensive team, and they’ll need their defense to show up on Saturday.
The Spurs are tied with the Denver Nuggets for second place in the West. They’ll need to keep winning to hold their position at the top of the conference. Meanwhile, Charlotte is 2.5 games out of 10th in the East and gaining ground fast on the Chicago Bulls for a play-in spot. With both teams playing good basketball right now, fans who trudge through the snow should have a good game awaiting them at the Spectrum Center.
San Antonio Spurs (32-15) vs. Charlotte Hornets (21-28)
January 31st, 2026 | 11 AM CT
Watch: Amazon Prime | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
Spurs Injuries: Harrison Ingram – Out (G League), Stanley Umude – Out (G League), David Jones-Garcia – Out (G League), Jeremy Sochan – Out (quad)
Hornets Injuries: Josh Green – Probable (achilles), PJ Hall – Out (G League), Liam McNeeley – Out (G League), Mason Plumlee – Out (groin), Antonio Reeves – Out (G League), KJ Simpson – Out (G League)
What to watch for:
Running Charlotte off the line
The Hornets are a great three-point shooting team. They are hitting 15.3 deep balls a game at a 37.3% clip, good enough for 5th in the NBA in both categories. With sharpshooters like Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, and LaMelo Ball, the Hornets have multiple players who can hurt you from deep. Things get a bit more mixed when Charlotte is inside the restricted area. They are shooting 46.4% from the field this season, 19th in the league. The Spurs can mitigate the Hornets’ strength by running shooters off the line and funneling them to Victor Wembanyama, who can force them into tough shots in the paint.
Forcing turnovers
Charlotte is also prone to coughing the ball up. The Hornets turn the ball over 15.7 times per game, third most in the NBA. They aren’t great at creating turnovers on the other end to mitigate this issue. The Spurs can cause havoc defensively when they play the passing lanes. Ball pressure from Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox will be crucial to helping San Antonio slow down the Hornets’ offensive attack.
San Antonio’s guard trio
The Spurs played a lineup featuring all three of their core guards against the Rockets on Wednesday. Dylan Harper, Castle and Fox shared the floor alongside Wembanyama and Devin Vassell, and then Keldon Johnson. This lineup was solid defensively and gave San Antonio plenty of playmaking on the offensive end. The glimpse at the lineup was brief, but enticing. Charlotte is a big team, but given their turnover issues and three-point shooting, having more aggressive, quick defenders on the floor at the same time could prove advantageous. It would be fun to get another look at the 3-guard lineup on Saturday.
