CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Danger lurks off the edge of downtown here in The Queen City.
It is manifested in the image of the Charlotte Hornets in their Spectrum Center home, a short walk from the city centre. They are a carefree group representing a lottery-bound NBA franchise who have a chance to really mess things up for the Raptors.
Fans will look at the respective records — the Hornets are 26-52 and basically locked in to the fourth-worst record in the league; the Raptors are 38-39 and hoping to move up in the play-in standings — and feel quite optimistic.