Charlotte Hornets Report: Week of December 29th - January 4th
Credit: Charlotte Hornets
LAST 5 GAMES
- vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: W, 110-99
- vs Detroit Pistons: W, 98-86
- @ Boston Celtics: L, 103-119
- @ Brooklyn Nets: L, 132-134 (2OT)
- vs. Brooklyn Nets: W, 100-87
The Hornets Report is a couple days late, so there are 2 additional games over the last stretch for the overview. Over the last 5 games, Charlotte went 3-2 with all of their wins coming at home. The Hornets are back at .500 and are tied for 6th in the Eastern Conference. They are a game and a half above the cut line, so there is very little room for error at the moment. The Hornets have played well at home, as they should, but have struggled mightily with away games this season. In the last 5 game stretch, their two losses were to the Celtics, which would’ve been a big win on the road, and the Nets. Despite the Nets having a decent season, it was a game that the Hornets shouldn’t have lost. Even though the ending of that game was kind of wild, that’s really no excuse for Charlotte being put in that situation to begin with. Those kinds of games can make or break a season and with the new year rolling in, the Hornets need to capitalize on those easier games. I feel like I’m saying this every week, but they Hornets need help. Losing Dwight Howard is hurting this club on the board. Nobody gets rebounds on this team. Howard wouldn’t have been great on this year’s team, but the Hornets need another good scorer and another great rebounder on this team to solidify themselves as a playoff contending team in the East. Kemba Walker has looked like his normal self in the last 5 games, averaging 27.4 PPG with a .500 FG% and .440 3P%. Jeremy Lamb has also been a constant in the Hornets lineup, averaging 18.6 PPG over the last five. Another thing I noticed over the 5-game stretch is the play of Willy Hernangomez. He is seeing limited time, but when he is getting minutes, he is playing well. He had 19 points and 10 rebounds against a very good Boston Celtics squad in just 23 minutes of play. Look for Coach Borrego to get Hernangomez on the court a little more in the next few games.
NEXT 3 GAMES
- @ Washington Wizards (13-23): Saturday, December 29th at 7pm
- vs. Orlando Magic (15-19): Monday, December 31st at 6pm
- vs. Dallas Mavericks (16-18): Wednesday, January 2nd at 7pm
Over the next 3, the Hornets are looking at decent, but not great opponents. There are two more games in the 2018 year and the first of the next two is against the Wizards on the road. If this season has taught us anything, it looks like the Hornets are going to have a tough time in this one. As I said earlier, the Hornets have not had great success on the road this season and the Wizards aren’t having a great year, but are certainly a team that can strike when they please. The biggest question going into this game is the status of John Wall. If Wall plays, it certainly gives the Wiz a better chance to win, but I think it’s going to be a tough one for the Hornets regardless. Look for the Wizards to feature Bradley Beal in this one, regardless of Wall’s status, as he has been the most consistent player for the squad this season. The key to stopping the Wizards in this one looks like it will come at defending the 3. The Wizards have shot the 11th most 3’s per game, but are ranked 2nd lowest in the NBA in 3P%. Forcing the Wizards to take bad long-range shots looks like the key to success in this one for the Hornets.
Next on the slate is the Orlando Magic at home in the last game of 2018. This is also a reunion of the Hornets’ former Head Coach, Steve Clifford. The two teams have matched up this year once, but the game was on the road, by the way, the Hornets won that one 120-88. Charlotte gave Orlando a great defensive performance, holding them to just .383 from the field, Kemba Walker was the leading scorer in that contest, scoring 26 points. The Hornets will likely have a tough time with Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic, who has been a man on a mission as of late. The Swiss big man is having the best season of his career so far, and the Magic are coming off of a huge win Friday night, against the Toronto Raptors. Much like the Hornets the past few seasons, Coach Clifford has the Magic playing very efficient basketball. They are 9th in PPG allowed and are 7th lowest in turnovers. The problem for the Magic is offense, they are the 4th lowest offense in basketball and have no real scoring threats. Capitalizing on turnovers looks like a big key to success in this one for Charlotte. Hopefully Buzz City will close 2018 out the right way, with a win on New Year’s Eve.
The first game of 2019 and the last game of the 3-game slate is against the Dallas Mavericks at home. The Mavs are in an interesting spot right now. We are seeing the close of, what has turned out to be, the greatest career from a European player in NBA history, Dirk Nowitzki, and the start of a career that could be more of the same, I’m calling it the Luka Dončić era. Dallas is just 2.5 games behind the cutoff line in the West, but the fight for the Top 8 is a hectic one. The 19-year-old SF/G from Slovenia has made sure that the Mavericks stay relevant in a very crowded Western Conference, he is averaging 19.0/6.7/5.1 in his debut season. Looka for Luka to be in the middle of everything in this contest. This is likely the last time that Dirk Nowitzki is going to play in Charlotte. If I were you guys, I would make the trip to see one of the game’s greats one more time. With that being said, the Hornets will not have an easy matchup, but the Mavericks look very average statistically. They are sitting in the middle in basically every team category, with the exception of turnovers. They turn the ball over at the 5th highest rate in basketball, but this is likely because of the team’s inexperience. Dallas has a relatively young team, but they’re a team that can be a force in the next couple of years. Forcing the young team into making costly mistakes will be the Hornets key to victory.
Yacs