LAST 3 GAMES

- vs. Dallas Mavericks: L, 93-104

- @ Toronto Raptors: L, 108-111

- @ Toronto Raptors: L, 113-126

What looked like could be a great run for Charlotte turned out to be a disaster week. To be fair though, these were tough opponents, but it’s never a good thing to go on a 3-game losing streak. Against Dallas, Luka Dončić looked more like himself last Wednesday with his performance and Kristaps Porzingis made his season debut and looked impressive as usual. A downside to the Hornets play was their shooting efficiency, but the bench also played horribly.

The last two games last week were against the Raptors and both were 3-point losing effort. I erroneously stated that they were traveling to Toronto in last week’s article, but they actually played in Tampa. Nevertheless, they continued their losing ways and I had a feeling that these back-to-back meetings were going to go one of two ways. Either the Hornets were going to come out firing and take advantage of the Raptors poor start, or this was going to be the Raptors turn around series. Sadly, it was the latter.

Gordon Hayward missed the first of the two games against the Raptors due to a hip injury but returned to action a looked solid. The performer of the games against Charlotte was Chris Boucher coming off of the bench. He averaged 22.5 PPG and 9.5 RPG. Terry Rozier is probably most people’s player of the week, but I went another route. Rozier did have a good week averaging 21.3 PPG, despite the Hornets having a bad week.

The upcoming week is going to be another challenging one, but I think there are some games that the Hornets can get back some momentum and get a good run going.

Week 4 MVP: PJ Washington

While I’ve said that the Hornets week was a bad one, there were some bright spots and one of those bright spots was PJ Washington. He led the team in rebounds in all of the 3 games in last week’s slate and was a decent scorer in those games. He averaged 16.7 PPG, 11.0 RPG, and was a valuable asset for the team. Terry Rozier may have been a more logical choice, but I wanted to give Washington the edge for showing his hustle points in last week’s contests.

NEXT 4 GAMES

- vs. Washington Wizards (3-8): Wednesday, January 20th; PPD

- vs. Chicago Bulls (6-8): Friday, January 22nd at 7pm

- @ Orlando Magic (6-8): Sunday, January 24th at 6pm

- @ Orlando Magic (6-8): Monday, January 25th at 7pm

The first game of Week 5’s slate was supposed to be tonight against the Wizards, but it was postponed due to Covid-related issues. So, the Hornets will open the slate against the Bulls on Friday. The Bulls have the same record as the Hornets at the moment and even though this is the case, these two teams couldn’t be any more different. The Bulls have a lot of talented players on their team, but they’re a young team. Chicago has the 3rd worst scoring defense in the NBA, but their offense is solid. They’ve had some recent Covid issues with a couple players, they’ve had a healthy team for the most part. Zach Lavine is the leading scorer for the team at 27.4 PPG this season and Lauri Markkanen is another key player that has been on a roll lately. We’ll get to see some former ACC standouts in this game also. Coby White is playing well in his second NBA season, averaging nearly 16 points a game. Also, Wendell Carter Jr. is the team’s leading rebounder and the 4th pick in the most recent NBA Draft from Florida State, Patrick Williams will be ready to go against the Hornets on Friday night. I feel like this should be a win for Charlotte and if they play the way that they want, it should be.

Like last week, this week’s slate ended with a back-to-back matchup. This time though, it is against the Orlando Magic. The Magic also have the same record as the Hornets, but have been on a losing skid lately. They have lost their last 6 games and it is possible for them to be on an 8-game losing streak when they meet Charlotte. Nikola Vucevic is the leading guy in Orlando averaging 22.9 PPG and 11.0 RPG, but they have a solidly built team. Terrence Ross averages 16.4 PPG off of the bench and Aaron Gordon is a solid PF that happens to technically be the assist leader for the team. Former Hornet, Dwayne Bacon has started in every game for the Magic this year and is doing well. Also, the Hornets former head coach, Steve Clifford is leading the Orlando team. With all of that being said, the last two games won’t be easy for the Hornets and if they can walk out with at least two wins this week, it would be great for the team moving forward.

Yacs

Charlotte Hornets Report: Week 5 of 2020-21