Charlotte Hornets Report: Week 1 of 2020-21

Charlotte Hornets

The NBA is back in action and last night were the first games of the regular season. The new and delayed season is upon us and it is time for us to brush the dust off and get ready for some Hornets basketball. Welcome back to another year of the Hornets Report and this season will be more interesting than last, because there are some new additions to the team. You can see our Hornets Preview here. Just like the last couple of years, I will preview the games for the upcoming week and as the season progresses, I will discuss how those games unfolded. It is going to be an interesting season, so let’s dive right in. Here are the 3 upcoming games for the opening week of Hornets basketball. 

NEXT 3 GAMES

-       @ Cleveland Cavaliers: Wednesday, December 23rd at 7pm

-       vs. Oklahoma City Thunder: Saturday, December 26th at 7pm

-       vs. Brooklyn Nets: Sunday, December 27th at 7pm

The Hornets regular season kicks off on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers and it looks like the Hornets have a real shot at starting the season off with a win. The Cavs were the worst team in the Eastern Conference last year and it looks like it will be more of the same for them in 2021. Their three biggest threats on the team at the moment are Collin Sexton, Kevin Love and Andre Drummond. The Cavs are a slightly improved team with the addition of Drummond in his first full year with the team. Sexton and Garland gained another year of experience and they drafted Isaac Okoro with the 5th pick in this year’s draft. For this game in particular though, it appears that Kevin Love will likely not play, because they’re said to be preparing as if he is inactive. This should be somewhat of a relief for the Hornets on defense because they’re not having to guard the sharpshooting big. You can only make one first impression and even if the Hornets should win, they shouldn’t take this game lightly. 

Game 2 of the season will be the Home opener for the Hornets. They will welcome OKC to the Queen City. OKC was a solid team last year, but they’re a different team heading into the new season. They no longer have Chris Paul, Dennis Schröder, or Steven Adams and it feels like they will not be anything like the team that they were last year. In fact, it looks like they may be one of the worst teams in basketball. They did add Al Horford, but this is just a weak lineup. Also, the Thunder have a young and inexperienced team. With the exception of Horford, George Hill, and Trevor Ariza, the majority of the players are either heading into their second season or rookies.  Hopefully the Hornets can pick up a win here and use that momentum heading into the next game. 

The last game of week one will be a tough one for the Hornets. Just one day after their home opener, they will square off against the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets could easily be the best team in the East by the end of the year. They’re loaded with talent and have a new coach. Steve Nash made his coaching debut last night and it will be interesting to see him on the sidelines. This Nets team was a good, underrated squad last year, but with the addition of Kevin Durant and a fully healthy Kyrie Irving, this team is going to be a force to be reckoned with. Their bench players honestly could lead the team to the playoffs, that is how talented this team is. Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert, Landry Shamet, Jarrett Allen, Jeff Green, Tyler Johnson and Taurean Prince are all coming off of the bench and that is insane. The Hornets will have a tough time on Sunday night, but hopefully they can show flashes of brilliance against a title contending team. 

Yacs