Charlotte Hornets Report: Week of March 30th - April 5th

Credit: Charlotte Hornets

LAST 4 GAMES

-      vs. Boston Celtics: W, 124-117

-      @ Toronto Raptors: W, 115-114

-      vs. San Antonio Spurs: W, 125-116 (OT)

-      @ Los Angeles Lakers: L, 115-129

The Hornets had a good week in terms of wins and losses, but the game that I thought they would likely win was the game they lost. The biggest takeaway from last week was the buzzer-beater win against the Raptors when Jeremy Lamb threw up a shot from half-court to seal the victory for the Hornets. Hopefully this triggered a momentum change for the Hornets moving forward. Also, a surprise in that game was the leading scorer, Dwayne Bacon led the team with 20 points in Sunday’s game. Week’s like this last one will have to become a habit for the rest of the season for the Hornets to make the playoffs. They are still 2 games behind, but obviously this isn’t unattainable. There are only 7 games in the season left and only two weeks with what looks like another tough week for the Hornets.

NEXT 4 GAMES

-      @ Golden State Warriors (51-24): Sunday, March 31st at 8:30pm

-      @ Utah Jazz (46-30): Monday, April 1st at 9pm

-      @ New Orleans Pelicans (32-45): Wednesday, April 3rd at 8pm

-      vs. Toronto Raptors (53-23): Friday, April 5th at 7pm

Match number 2 against the Warriors will happen on Sunday night on the road. It goes without saying, but these are always the toughest games on the schedule for the Hornets, not to mention it is on the road. The Warriors look to be in playoff mode and will start gearing up for another shot at the NBA Championship. The Warriors are currently tied for 1st in the Western Conference and I’d venture to say they will be the outright leaders by the time the season ends. It would be a miracle if the Hornets walk away victorious in this one, but anything can happen. 

Next the Hornets will take on the 5th seed in the West on the road. The Utah Jazz are 9-1 in their last 10, which is tied for the best in NBA in regards to the last 10. They just secured a spot in the playoffs, but seeding in the West is still up in the air as far as the 3-8 spots are concerned. The Jazz are an efficient and great defensive team, so look for a game that will be kept under wraps on April Fool’s Day. On paper, it doesn’t look like the Jazz would be a legitimate contender in the West, but here they are and I think they could realistically make it past the first round. Jazz coach Quin Snyder really has this team playing at their best and the Hornets will definitely be put to the test in this one. 

The game against the Pelicans will be the last time the Hornets play on the road for the week. Coming up this Wednesday, Charlotte will see a team that has been riddled with injuries all season long, but they should remain cautious. This is a very winnable game, but if Anthony Davis plays, the Pelicans can still pull out an occasional win. It looks like Davis may be on his way out after the season is done and thus will start a rebuild for the New Orleans franchise. I’m expecting this game to go in Charlotte’s favor and this game will also end the Hornets games against Western Conference opponents for the rest of the season. Hopefully they end their Western Conference schedule the right way on Wednesday night. 

The last game on the slate will be another matchup with the Toronto Raptors on Friday night. This will not be an easy one, but since the Raptors are virtually locked into the 2 seed with a very slim chance of gaining the 1 seed, this may be a game that Toronto eases off of the throttle. I hope that is the case for Charlotte, but we will see. The Raptors are obviously a good team and will look to be representing the East in NBA Finals in June. I can’t tell what this game will be like, but I don’t expect the Raptors to just roll over. I was a little surprised when I saw that the Hornets beat the Raptors by a buzzer-beater shot last Sunday, but this may be a game where the momentum is in favor of the Hornets. The feel of this game will be more evident after the three games prior to the matchup. As evidence of last Sunday’s game, the Hornets can beat this team, but it won’t be an easy victory by any means.

Yacs