Charlotte Hornets visit Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center on Thursday night, early on Friday morning UK time, in the first meeting since Miles Bridges moved to Arizona in exchange for Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale.

That trade was agreed on 28 June, three days after LaMelo Ball left for Minnesota in the deal that brought Naz Reid to Charlotte, and the clubs split their two meetings last season.

What is the form like for Charlotte Hornets and Phoenix Suns?

Charlotte sit ninth in the Eastern Conference standings after ending a six-game losing streak with a 124-112 win over Cleveland on Monday, their first victory since 26 October.

That win came on 23 made threes from 46 attempts, a huge jump for a team that had the league's second-lowest three-point percentage coming in, so it reads as an outlier rather than a new baseline.

Reid was central to it with 25 points and 13 rebounds, after sitting out the second half of a Detroit loss on 28 October, and coach Charles Lee has since called him "an elite two-way player".

Phoenix are 4-6 and 11th in the West after beating the Clippers 133-110 on Tuesday, a response to a heavy defeat at home to San Antonio 24 hours earlier, and the Suns led by as many as 32 points.

Phoenix hold the clear edge in efficiency, with an offence that rates about 13 points per 100 possessions better than Charlotte's, yet a defence that rates more than five points worse, which points towards a game where Phoenix score freely and Charlotte must out-rebound them to stay level.

Charlotte answer on the glass, winning the rebounding battle by more than six a game, but they turn the ball over nearly five more times per night than the Suns, so possessions will turn on whether Charlotte's extra second chances outweigh the extra giveaways.

The Hornets' road form is thin, with one win in four away games and under 96 points a game in those outings, while Phoenix are 4-3 at home.

The caveat for Phoenix is consistency, since coach Jordan Ott's side have struggled to put four good quarters together this season, and Charlotte led Cleveland by 33 at one point on Monday.

Charlotte Hornets vs. Phoenix Suns team news and rotations

Charlotte's list is long, with Kon Knueppel and Dennis Schroder out with left hamstring strains, Grant Williams out with a hamstring problem, and Brandon Miller and Moussa Diabate day-to-day after missing the Cleveland game.

Against the Cavaliers, Charlotte started Reid, Ryan Kalkbrenner, Allen, Coby White and Sion James, with O'Neale and Tidjane Salaun providing the main bench minutes.

Phoenix list only Mark Williams, who is out following left shoulder surgery, while Jordan Goodwin returned from a calf injury on Tuesday to score 18 points off the bench, with Ott praising his defence and improved three-point shooting.

Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Bridges and Oso Ighodaro have started the last four games together, and Ott admitted before Tuesday's win that "we're going to need others to come help" when Booker sits.

Hornets vs. Suns: the matchups that could decide it

Booker against Allen is the headline duel, a scorer who has averaged more than 27 points over his last five games facing the player Phoenix traded away, who is shooting 46.9% from three for Charlotte and has been one of the few steady scorers in an offence that has struggled for consistency.

Bridges against Reid pits the forward Charlotte moved on against the big man they received from Minnesota, and with the Hornets shooting so poorly from the field the rebounds that follow misses are where this duel is likely to be settled.

Charlotte Hornets vs. Phoenix Suns player props

What does the head-to-head say about Hornets vs. Suns?

The 2025-26 series finished level, with Phoenix winning 111-99 at home on 8 March thanks to 30 points and 10 assists from Booker, who also made all 15 of his free throws and ended Charlotte's 10-game road winning streak, the longest active run in the league at that point.

Charlotte answered with a 127-107 win on 2 April, making 18 of 39 threes, winning the rebounds 47-31 and getting 25 points from Bridges.

Neither roster is recognisable now, since Ball and Bridges played for Charlotte last time out while Allen and O'Neale were with Phoenix, so the results work better as colour for the trade story than as a guide to Thursday, and the return game in Charlotte comes later in the NBA schedule.

Hornets vs. Suns prediction and betting tips

Charlotte's best route is a repeat of Monday's shooting, though that came at home against a Cleveland side that emptied its bench for the fourth quarter, and the Hornets have scored fewer than 105 points in four of their last five games.

Phoenix should win by around nine, with Booker providing most of the scoring and a Charlotte side missing key guards unable to keep pace over 48 minutes, although a second consecutive hot shooting night from the Hornets would make the margin tighter than our spread pick needs.