LAST 3 GAMES

- @ Cleveland Cavaliers: L, 114-121

- vs. Oklahoma City Thunder: L, 107-109

- vs. Brooklyn Nets: W, 106-104

The season has started and the first 3 games of the season have been played. Things didn’t go quite as expected, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The Hornets are currently 1-2 to start off, but their lone win came against the Nets, the team that nobody thought they would beat, however, the two losses weren’t exactly ideal. Losing is never ideal, but you can come to expect some losses against tough teams, but the Thunder and Cavs aren’t exactly tough. Who knows? The season is young and we may look back and say that they weren’t bad losses.

I got the chance to watch all 3 games last week and I have to say, this team isn’t very predictable. That could be a great thing, but judging by the history of the Hornets franchise, it likely isn’t. I’m already seeing some defensive rebounding issues from this team and that isn’t a good sign early on. Although they’re not doing a great job of grabbing boards on defense, their offensive boards skills have looked great. There is a lot of hustle in this team and I noticed especially a lot of hustle from the star rookie, LaMelo Ball. Devonte’ Graham has not been his normal self in the first 3 games, but don’t expect that to be the case for the rest of the season. Also, I wanted to mention how great Gordon Hayward looks in the early stages of his Hornets career. He is averaging 22.7 PPG in the first 3 games and showing that he is a great team player with 5 RPG and 7 APG.

There was a big injury for Charlotte this week. Cody Zeller is expected to miss 4-6 weeks due to a broken hand. Moving forward, this is terrible news for Charlotte as they progress through the first half of the season. Post presence was already the Hornets weakness heading into the season, so this just makes matters worse. Bismack Biyombo has already seen a minutes increase and this could force Charlotte to play smaller than anticipated until Zeller returns, which appears won’t be until February.

Week 1 MVP: Terry Rozier

Last year, I started an MVP of the week for each Hornets Report article, but I really didn’t keep track of it too well. This year, I am going to make it a separate portion of my article each week. Although there were a couple players this week in the running, Terry Rozier takes the Week 1 prize. Through the first 3 games, Rozier is averaging 26.7 PPG, including that 42-point performance in the season opener, which happens to be his career high. Not only that, be he is also shooting the ball with great efficiency. He sits at a 51.9% FG percentage and is shooting 43.3% from 3’s.

NEXT 4 GAMES

- @ Dallas Mavericks (1-2): Wednesday, December 30th at 8:30pm

- vs. Memphis Grizzlies (1-2): Friday, January 1st at 7pm

- @Philadelphia 76ers (3-1): Saturday, January 2nd at 7pm

- @Philadelphia 76ers (3-1): Monday, January 4th at 7pm

The first game of the week and last game of 2020 will be against Dallas on the road. The Hornets will face some tough road teams this week and tonight it will be against the Luka Dončić led Mavs. It is no secret that Luka is one of the best talents in the NBA, but the Mavs feel like they’re not as good as they seem. Through the first 3 games, Dončić seems like he hasn’t really gotten started yet and that is scary. His current line is 27.7/7.0/6.7, but he isn’t shooting efficiently. Only 44.4% of his FG are going down and only 12.5% of his 3’s are scoring. Not to say he can’t get hot in a hurry. It may be tonight that he starts to hit his stride, so watch out for that.

Next up is the Memphis Grizzlies and it will be the Hornets 2021 debut. This game will be the only home game on this week’s slate and it is one that they shouldn’t take lightly. It appears that Ja Morant will miss this contest due to an ankle sprain, so that is a big deal going in favor of the Hornets. Tyus Jones is expected to be the starting PG in his absence and along with Jones, rookie Desmond Bane will probably see his minutes increased. The Grizzlies are the 3rd worst scoring defense in the league and the Hornets should have no problems getting buckets, especially with their star being out for a few weeks. One of the biggest concerns that I see is Jonas Valanciunas. He is one of the more underrated post scorers and should be heavily involved on Friday night.

The final two games on the slate for the week will be against the 76ers on the road. These will be tough matchups, but to be fair, I think it gives Charlotte a decent chance to at least walk away with one win. The Sixers are stout as usual and Embiid, Simmons, and Harris are still with the team, so they will be contenders if they’re all healthy. A big addition to the team this year is former Duke guard, Seth Curry. So far, he is averaging 13.8 PPG and is hitting 3’s at a 45% clip. Some other former ACC that you probably know about on this team are Danny Green and Tony Bradley, who are former Tar Heels, and Mike Scott, who is a former Virginia Cavalier. A win will be a tough task for the Hornets against this Eastern Conference team, but it could be a help that they’re playing back-to-back

Yacs

Charlotte Hornets Report: Week 2 of 2020-21