Charlotte Hornets Report: Week of October 28th
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Welcome Back Hornets fans! The first Hornets Report of the season is coming your way and there is a little bit to discuss with the Hornets already playing in 3 games so far. This season will probably be a growing year for the younger players and a settling year for 2nd year Head Coach James Borrego. This year will seem a little weird without Kemba Walker, but time moves on and we will just have to get used to it. I’m going to try to remain cautiously optimistic this season and hopefully the Hornets can be a decent team this year.
LAST 3 GAMES
- vs. Chicago Bulls: W, 126-125
- vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: L, 99-121
- @ Los Angeles Lakers: L,101-120
To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect coming out of the gate for the Hornets this season. I didn’t completely know what the starting lineup would look like and I really didn’t know how minutes would be shared. The biggest shocker that I’m seeing in the first 3 games is the fact that Malik Monk is averaging around 16 minutes a game. I thought for sure that he would be getting at least 25, but as the season progresses keep an eye on that. I was interested to see how rookie, PJ Washington would fare and he made a huge impact in his NBA debut, scoring 27 points. Devonte’ Graham has averaged 18.7 PPG in the first 3 games of the season and hopefully he can provide this kind of scoring output throughout the season, because if this year is anything like last year, they will need consistent scoring. It appears that Miles Bridges is going to take on a bigger role with the team and with the injury of Nic Batum, things will be interesting for the next few weeks. 1-2 isn’t ideal start, but I’m not expecting a lot out of this club this year. Hopefully they can prove everyone wrong as the season goes on, but this week’s slate isn’t going to do them any favors.
NEXT 3 GAMES
- @ Los Angeles Clippers: Monday, October 28th at 10:30pm
- @ Sacramento Kings: Wednesday, October 30th at 10pm
- @ Golden State Warriors: Saturday, November 2nd at 8:30pm
Tonight, the Hornets are taking on the Clippers, who look like they will be one of the favorites to come out of the West. Kawhi Leonard is already making his presence felt on his new team, but it looks like they will be without Paul George for at least a couple more weeks. The Clippers have a potent offense and slowing them down will be the key, because having a scoring duel with them doesn’t make much sense at the moment. They are clearly beatable, because the Suns defeated them on Saturday, but it won’t be an easy game for Charlotte.
Next, we have the Kings and it will be the third game of the west coast slate. This is a very winnable game, but it could be one that takes the Hornets by surprise. It’s difficult to tell this early on in the season, but we don’t really know how good the Hornets can potentially be this year. This Kings matchup will be a solid indicator, especially with it being a road test. The Kings have some solid, young talent, so they’re not a team that Charlotte should take lightly. Buddy Hield just signed a four-year extension and they also have De’Aaron Fox, Marvin Bagley, and Bogdan Bogdanovic.
I don’t have to tell you how good Golden State is, but they haven’t gotten off to a good start this year. They appear to not be seeing eye-to-eye on a lot of things, but I think it’s just a matter of time until they figure things out and Charlotte could be the exact team for them to realize again that they are a dominant team, but I hope they are still struggling by the time Saturday rolls around. Klay Thompson isn’t playing at the moment and he could be out for the whole year, but they still have Curry, Green, and D’Angelo Russell. This team is a lot different from the ones over the last few years, but expect the Warriors to be on their A-game by the end of the week.
Yacs