Charlotte Hornets Report: Week 14 of 2020-21
Charlotte Hornets
LAST 4 GAMES
- @ Denver Nuggets: L, 104-129
- @ Los Angeles Lakers: L, 105-116
- @ Los Angeles Clippers: L, 98-125
- @ San Antonio Spurs: W, 100-97
Long story short, it wasn’t a good week for Charlotte. It was a tough week, but it would’ve been great for them to at least get two wins. The Hornets are now back at .500 and things aren’t looking good for the rest of the season. LaMelo Ball is out of action and is likely out for the rest of the season. This isn’t good news, but it isn’t worth getting too upset over.
The Hornets got outplayed in all of the games except the Lakers game and Spurs. Even though they got the loss against the Lakers, the battle of the turnovers was the deciding factor. The Hornets shot better and I feel like they played a better game. They didn’t shoot well in the rest of the games and that was the biggest issue last week. They’re going to have to be more consistent against these good teams to be a legitimate contender in the postseason
The upcoming week isn’t nearly as difficult of a slate, but it will have its challenges. It would be great if they could get 3 wins out of the next 4.
Week 13 MVP: Terry Rozier
USA Today Sports
This was a tough week to choose because none of the players played consistently well. Rozier averaged 18.3 PPG in the last 4 games, but he shot below 40% from the field. PJ Washington rebounded the ball well and Gordon Hayward led the team in assists in 3 of the last 4 games. Hopefully there will be some great option in Week 14 for Hornets MVP.
NEXT 4 GAMES
- @ Houston Rockets (12-30): Wednesday, March 24th at 8pm
- vs. Miami Heat (22-21): Friday, March 26th at 8pm
- vs. Phoenix Suns (28-13): Sunday, March 28th at 1pm
- @ Washington Wizards (15-26): Tuesday, March 30th at 7pm
The Rockets are having a mess of a year and have the 2nd worst record in basketball. They have a smaller lineup and it appears that they’re in tank mode. The Hornets have already played them once this season and they picked up a win. The Hornets shot well in that game and held the Rocket under 40% FG. It appears that they’re trying to move Victor Oladipo before the trade deadline and I don’t see a reason why the Hornets can’t win this game easily.
The Heat are in playoff contention as usual and they have always been a tough matchup for Charlotte. Surprisingly enough, the Heat and Hornets have only played once this season. Charlotte won the game in OT and Malik Monk led the game with 36 points. With LaMelo Ball out of action, we could see a similar performance from Monk. The guards will have to step up here if they want to win this one. It should be a close game.
The Suns and Hornets are meeting up for the final time this season on Sunday and it is going to be a rare afternoon game. The Suns are playing like one of the best teams in basketball as of late and the deadly combo of Booker and Paul are a force to be reckoned with. The Hornets won the first matchup in a close game and the Hornets were led by Malik Monk’s 29 points off of the bench. He has come up in big spots in big games, so hopefully we will see that this week.
The last game of the week will be the first Tuesday game of the season for Charlotte. The Hornets will travel to Washington to meet up with Westbrook and Beal. It is a shame that the Wizards are as bad as they are. I really don’t understand it. Bradley Beal is still leading the NBA in scoring and it appears that will be the case for the rest of the season. This will be the second meeting between the two teams and the Hornets won the first meeting. The Hornets practically dominated the game, so we’re hoping for more of the same in the upcoming matchup.
Yacs