The Los Angeles Lakers and the Charlotte Hornets will kick off the post-All-Star break NBA season on Wednesday night in a game that was rescheduled after the Los Angeles fires in January. The two will square off in a standalone game in Los Angeles before heading out on back-to-backs on Thursday night.
Of course, the matchup is much funnier now on paper after the failed Mark Williams-Dalton Knecht trade between the two teams. It seemed for a few days like the Lakers had found their center of the future, but issues with Williams’ physical forced them to call the deal off. Now, everybody will get a chance for revenge when the two teams take the court on Wednesday night.
Surely nobody wants to get some revenge and have a big game more than Williams, who probably feels somewhat unwanted by both teams involved here. He may get plenty of chances for a monster night, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
“A Mark Williams revenge game? I never thought I’d say those words.”
@WindhorstESPN says the Hornets are “upset” with the Lakers for rescinding the trade and to expect a “huge diet” of Mark Williams in Lakers-Hornets tonight
pic.twitter.com/WAscP2EPTs
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 19, 2025
“Considering how upset the Hornets organization was, considering that Mark Williams went all the way to Los Angeles, got the physical and was sent back home saying ‘We think you’re damaged goods,’ I think you’re gonna see a huge diet of Mark Williams going at the Lakers tonight,” Windhorst said on Wednesday’s NBA Today.
The Lakers are very thin on the front line after trading Anthony Davis and failing to acquire a starting-caliber center to replace him, so Williams should have plenty of chances to get some buckets anyway. If the Hornets are keyed in on getting him the ball, he could be in for a big night.
While Williams isn’t known as a traditional scorer and doesn’t do a ton of damage from outside the paint, he still has shown the ability to rack up the points at times this season. He has scored 20 or more points six times in 23 games this season, so he can get going if the Lakers give him the chance.
This is Williams’ first game since the trade fiasco and will be his first outing in total since Feb. 5, so there may be some rust for him to shake off. If he can settle in, he could be in for a big night.
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