Overview
- Charlotte, which listed Moussa Diabate as questionable Friday with left hip soreness, visits Orlando in a win-or-go-home game for the East’s No. 8 seed.
- Diabate leads the Hornets at 8.7 rebounds per game and gives them second chances and rim defense that allow Miles Bridges to stay at forward.
- He grabbed 14 rebounds in Tuesday’s overtime win over Miami, showing how his work on the glass can tilt a single-elimination game.
- If he cannot go, rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner is the likely replacement at center, with frontcourt depth already thinned by PJ Hall’s season-ending ankle surgery.
- Charlotte won the season series 3–1, yet Orlando’s size led by Paolo Banchero makes a physical matchup where an active rebounder could decide possessions.