Charlotte Hornets

LAST 4 GAMES

- vs. Washington Wizards: PPD

- vs. Chicago Bulls: L, 110-123

- @ Orlando Magic: W, 107-104

- @ Orlando Magic: L, 108-117

I mentioned last week that it would’ve been ideal for the Hornets to end last week’s slate with at least 2 wins, well, that didn’t happen. The Wizards game was postponed due to Covid concerns, but they played the rest of their games. They didn’t really seem to be on the same page against the Bulls last Friday. Both teams shot the ball pretty well, but the Hornets lost the battle in turnovers and 3-point efficiency. The biggest positive to come out of Friday’s game was the fact that Cody Zeller returned to action. He came off of the bench and played 11 minutes on Friday, but saw his minutes gradually increase throughout the week.

The last two games against the Magic were split with the Hornets taking the first game of the two. The lone win of the week was due in large part to Gordon Hayward’s clutch offense in the last minutes of the game. Speaking of which, Hayward had a wonderful week and we’ll talk about him later. In both games against the Magic, Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon were too much for the Hornets to handle. Gordon was close to a triple-double in both games and Vucevic posted two big double-doubles. Former Tar Heel, Cole Anthony averaged 17.5 PPG in the two meetings.

The Hornets really had a tough time defending long-range shots last week, so hopefully they will force teams to take tougher shots in the future. A little bit of drama broke out this week with LaVar Ball being vocal about LaMelo’s role with the team. Thankfully Coach Borrego is being stern with his coaching philosophy and I know when LaMelo is ready to have an increased role, it will happen. LaMelo personally hasn’t commented on being upset with his bench role, so I don’t think there is much to it.

The Hornets have probably the toughest week of their season coming up and 3 of those matchups will be at the Spectrum Center. In fact, it appears that the month of February will be really tough for Charlotte. We’ll see how that goes, but let’s look ahead to the upcoming week.

Week 5 MVP: Gordon Hayward

Hayward had a monster week in last 3 games averaging 32.3 PPG and 7.0 RPG. He shot 52.6% from three and 59% from the field. Hayward has been great all year for Charlotte and has scored 20 points or more in all but 6 games this season. He has been the Hornets best player this season by a large margin and I think this will carry out for the rest of the year. Charlotte has seemingly found the guy that they can count on for offense.

NEXT 4 GAMES

- vs. Indiana Pacers (10-7): Wednesday, January 27th at 7pm

- vs. Indiana Pacers (10-7): Friday, January 29th at 7pm

- vs. Milwaukee Bucks (10-6): Saturday, January 30th at 8pm

- @ Miami Heat (6-10): Monday, February 1st at 7:30pm

The first two games of the week’s slate are against the Indiana Pacers. The first matchup will be tonight, and it will be the first meeting between the two teams this season. The Pacers are led by Malcolm Brogdon and his 22.7 PPG. Also, Domantas Sabonis is a steady asset for the team averaging 20.4 PPG and 12.4 RPG. On paper, this is a huge mismatch for Charlotte and it will be interesting to see how they approach these two matchups. Even though their teams are different, the Pacers won 3 of the 4 matchups last season and it wouldn’t surprise me to see them dominate the season series again. Myles Turner is a huge defensive force and is the league leader in Blocks per game, averaging 4.1 a game. If the Hornets can exploit Indiana’s poor long-range defense, they have a shot in both games. Indiana is the second worst against 3-point percentage.

The next team on the slate is against the powerhouse Milwaukee Bucks team. It is no secret how good the Bucks are and how good Giannis Antetokounmpo is. The Greek Freak is putting together another MVP level season and he has led the team in scoring in every game but two that he has played in and has been the leading rebounder and assist getter in half of the games this year. Khris Middleton is also adding nearly 22 PPG and Bobby Portis has been a solid player coming off of the bench with 11.1 PPG and 7.9 RPG. I’m not saying Milwaukee is one of those teams that you just expect to lose against, but it will be tough for the Hornets to walk out of Saturday’s game on the winning end. They’re the NBA’s scoring leader and they’re and efficient offensive team. Charlotte will have a tough contest and a win will be tough, but they have proven to be unpredictable and I could actually see them capping off their 3-game home stand with a win.

The last game of the week will be against the reigning Eastern Conference Champions. The Heat haven’t gotten off to a good start this year, but I think lineup inconsistency and injury/Covid issues have been a big factor in that. Bam Adebayo has been the star of the team so far this year, but they have a lot of really solid scoring options. Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Goran Dragic, Jimmy Butler and Duncan Robinson are all averaging above 14 PPG, despite this though, they’re tied with the Hornets in scoring at 23rd in the NBA. The Heat have probably been the biggest rival for the Hornets over the last few years at least and it is always seemingly a close game in the end. I don’t expect this one to be any different, but it is worth noting that the Heat have lost 6 of their last 8. Charlotte has lost 5 of their last 6, but that’s another story.

Yacs

Charlotte Hornets Report: Week 6 of 2020-21