Charlotte Hornets Report: Week of February 23rd - March 1st
Credit: Charlotte Hornets
Welcome back to basketball Hornets fans! The regular season week-long pause came to a close for some on Thursday, but for most on Friday. The Hornets resumed their regular season play last night against the Wizards and picked up the win at home. The Hornets looked very sharp shooting 39.4% from three and 48% from the field. Although the MVP of the night was Bradley Beal and his 46 points, the Hornets MVP goes to none other than the starting PG of Team Giannis in the All-Star Game, Kemba Walker. Walker dropped 27 and dished out 11 assists. Nic Batum also scored 20 on 13 shots. Charlotte mixed up their starting lineup in their return game and started Miles Bridges in place of Jeremy Lamb and he played well in his 29 minutes. We will see if this is just a simple matchup scenario or if this will become a usual lineup. Although their comeback game was not a difficult matchup, they possibly have the most difficult stretch of games coming up this week. If they can walk away with more than 2 wins in this stretch, it would be a success.
NEXT 4 GAMES
- vs. Brooklyn Nets (30-30): Saturday, February 23rdat 7pm
- vs. Golden State Warriors (42-16): Monday, February 25that 7pm
- vs. Houston Rockets (33-25): Wednesday, February 27that 7pm
- @ Brooklyn Nets (30-30): Friday, March 1stat 7:30pm
The first and last game of the four-game stretch is against the 6th place Brooklyn Nets. The first game is tonight at home and will be a confidence boost if the Hornets prevail. The Nets have been the surprise team of the year and they will look to continue what they started prior to the All-Star break. The Nets don’t really do anything above average, but they are a team that you cannot ever count out of a game. D’Angelo Russell is the leader of the team, but Joe Harris is the most intriguing player in this one. Harris sparked a local debate after he won the 3-point Shootout last Saturday. After winning the contest, he promised the trophy to the University of Charlotte, which is the incorrect name of the school. They let him get up some shots at Halton Arena on the UNCC campus and many students and alumni have sparked a movement trying to get the name of the school changed. This isn’t only because Harris made a mistake – many students and alumni have wanted the name changed for many years; mainly because of outsiders mistaking the school for UNC-Chapel Hill. We’ll see if this actually turns into anything, but we can point to Joe Harris winning the 3-point shootout in Charlotte as the turning point the local university if the school decides to change the name.
Next on the slate is the toughest matchup of the year. The Warriors are coming to town and this is possibly the greatest team ever assembled in NBA history. The team consists of five All-Star caliber players in their starting lineup and now DeMarcus Cousins is getting his minutes raised. For the Hornets to have a chance in this one, they have to come to the conclusion that this team cannot be stopped, they can only be slowed down. In the blink of an eye, this Warriors team can go from being down 10 points, to leading by 10 points. The Warriors could legitimately lose two starting players and still be a championship contender. If you can get tickets to this game, by all means, be in attendance. There may never be a team as talented as this one, so make sure to pack The Hive. Despite popular belief, the Warriors don’t only shoot threes. They are only 8th in attempted threes per game, but are 3rd in the whole NBA in 3-point effectiveness. They have the best offense by nearly 2.5 PPG and I expect that deficit to continue to grow. If the Hornets happen to win this game, it should give them the momentum to lock in a playoff spot.
Next on the slate is James Harden, Chris Paul, and the Houston Rockets. Earlier in the season, the Rockets were an injury-ridden team and basically were relying too heavily on the reigning MVP. Harden’s numbers were amazing, but the whole team suffered as a result of the injuries. The Rockets now have the services of Clint Capela and I feel like his injury was the main reason why the team struggled during the middle of the season. They can survive without Chris Paul, but a rebounding and defensive anchor like Capela is sorely missed. I expect their losing skid to start turning around within the next week or so, which is bad news for Charlotte. Capela should be fully active on the boards, so the Hornets need to limit him from getting access to the ball. Houston shoots the most threes per game by a very significant margin, but they aren’t a very efficient team. To be a title contender that is not a good thing. This game is far from unwinnable for the Hornets, so effecting passing lanes and creating turnovers will be Charlotte’s key to success in this one.
Yacs