The Charlotte Hornets play host to the Boston Celtics at Spectrum Center on Monday.

The Celtics (9-7) are in a bit of a slide right now, as they have just three wins across their last eight games. While that's nothing to be concerned with, it's shocking to see from a consistent team like the Celtics. What's really surprising in that stretch is the lackluster defense, with Boston allowing over 106 points per game in their five losses. They do still rank top-five in both points allowed and defensive efficiency though, as that truly shows how dominant their defense is even with a mini-slump. The offense has been in more than just a slump though, with Boston sitting 24th in scoring. That simply won't get it done for a title contender and they need to figure that out if they want to end this slide. The fact that Gordon Hayward had his minutes restriction lifted earlier this week could be a huge boost to this offense, as his recent struggles have played a part in the offensive struggles. He's too good to be posting lackluster numbers like this and the rise in his play with surely correlate with Boston's offense going forward.

The Hornets (7-8) come into this matchup losing three of their last four games despite the fact that Kemba Walker is having the best season of his career. The most recent game shows just how amazing he's been, as he dropped a career-high 60 points against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. The fact that they lost that game shows what's really wrong with this team, as the role players simply aren't doing enough for Kemba. Walker is leading this team with 28.7 points and 6.7 assists per game but there's really no second weapon on this team. That used to be Nicolas Batum, but his averages of 9.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists are way below his career averages. Jeremy Lamb has done a nice job as the number-two scorer but they won't stay competitive until they find a number-two playmaker.

Boston has dominated Charlotte over recent years, winning seven-straight games against them. In fact, the Celtics are winning those games by nearly 10 points per outing.