Charlotte Hornets Report: Week of February 4th 2020

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LAST 4 GAMES

-       vs. New York Knicks: W, 97-92

-       @ Washington Wizards: L, 107-121

-       @ San Antonio Spurs: 90-114

-       vs. Orlando Magic: L, 100-112

The Hornets finally broke that long losing streak last week, but started another losing streak in the process. I think we can honestly get used to this for the rest of the season. The trade deadline is only a couple days away and it will be interesting to see if the Hornets are going to be players. They’re likely not going to be buyers, but they could trade away some pieces for future draft picks. One name that they’re tied to right now is Julius Randle, but I just don’t think they’re going to be buyers considering how badly they have been playing, but they can always look to build for the future. Last week was probably one of their last chances to string together a few wins for the rest of the season, because it looks like a pretty tough schedule from here on out. This week’s MVP for the Hornets has to be Miles Bridges. He averaged 19.8 PPG over the last 4 games and even led the Hornets in rebounds last night against the Magic. The Hornets have a tough schedule in the coming week, but I think they can use it as a learning experience. 

NEXT 3 GAMES

-       @ Houston Rockets (31-18): Tuesday, February 4th at 8pm

-       vs. Dallas Mavericks (31-19): Saturday, February 8th at 7pm

-       @ Detroit Pistons (18-34): Monday, February 10th at 7pm

First up, the Hornets are playing the Houston Rockets tonight on the road. It isn’t a secret that the Rockets have one of the most potent offenses in the whole NBA and it shouldn’t take anyone by surprise if the Rockets have a huge win tonight. The combo of Russell Westbrook and James Harden has been an interesting one. In the long term, I can’t see it working out, but for now, they are deadly. However, they won’t have to worry about that tonight, because it looks like Russell Westbrook and Clint Cappella will be out of action for tonight’s contest. The Rockets are going to take a lot of shots, you can count on that, but if the Hornets force them into bad situations tonight, they could walk out of Texas with a win. 

The Rockets are the 2nd best scoring offense in the NBA, but the next team on the slate for Charlotte is the next team below the Rockets. The Dallas Mavericks have been great this year and Luka Dončić’s emergence into superstardom is to thank for that, but it looks like they will be without him this Saturday. This will force Kristaps Porzingis to be the go-to guy. This is a pretty serious mismatch for the Hornets and I feel like we will get to see Bismack Biyombo getting significant time on the floor. I feel bad for the Luka fans in the area that won’t get to see him play, but there’s always next year. 

Last on the slate is a game with the Pistons, next Monday on the road. This will be the final game against the Pistons this season and surprisingly, the Hornets could end up with a season sweep. Let’s all hope that will be the case next Monday night. The Hornets have won the previous 3 meetings with Detroit and all of the games have been within a one-score deficit. We could end up seeing different lineups next week for both teams, so that is another interesting thing to look out for. Both teams have similar records, but I feel like the Pistons have more potential moving forward with the pieces that they have. We’ll see how things turn out, but hopefully the Hornets can get a season series sweep next Monday night. 

Yacs