Charlotte Hornets

LAST 3 GAMES

- @ Brooklyn Nets: L, 89-111

- @ Indiana Pacers: W, 114-97

- @ Boston Celtics: L, 86-116

It was a horrible week for Charlotte, but that isn’t to say that they walked away empty handed. They did pick up a win, but they lost another big-time performer in Gordon Hayward. It looks like he will miss at least a month of action and to make matters worse, Malik Monk will be out of action for a couple weeks. The Injury Report isn’t working in favor of the Hornets and this could drastically impact their chances at having good seeding in the playoffs. They did play 3 solid teams last week, but I think they could have walked out with 3 wins last week, considering the Nets were sitting a lot of players. Injuries are never ideal, but this couldn’t be a worse time for the Hornets to have injury issues.

Other than key injuries, there really isn’t any other explanation for their losses. They will just have to learn to play without Ball, Hayward and Monk for a little while. They didn’t shoot well in any game last week, but I would chalk that up to heavy reliance on guards that create their own shots rather than having other set them up for good shots. Having Hayward and Monk out in particular is brutal for them because they could separate themselves and spread the floor to get better looks at the basket. Without that though, they’re left with poor shot opportunities. We’ll see how the upcoming week shakes out, but it doesn’t look too good for Charlotte, at least for the next couple of weeks. And with only 4 games separating them from the 10th seed in the East, they’ll have to buckled down.

Week 15 MVP: Miles Bridges

I like to choose the weekly MVP unconventionally and this week will be no different. Miles Bridges wasn’t really the best player for the Hornets this week, but he definitely made a big impact and showed up when needed. Bridges averaged 14.3 PPG and grabbed 6.7 RPG in the last 3 games. He shot 46.7% from the field and was lights out from long range at 53.3%. He especially showed up in the game against the Pacers with his 23-point, 10-rebound performance.

NEXT 4 GAMES

- @ Oklahoma City Thunder (20-30): Wednesday, April 7th at 8pm

- @ Milwaukee Bucks (32-18): Friday, April 9th at 9pm

- vs. Atlanta Hawks (27-24): Sunday, April 11th at 1pm

- vs. Los Angeles Lakers (32-19): Tuesday April 13th at 8pm

Tonight, as we speak, the Hornets are squaring up against OKC. The Thunder are in the bottom quadrant of the NBA and considering how dire wins are for the Hornets, this should be one that the Hornets need to focus heavily on. They played each other earlier this year, but it was bad news for Charlotte. It was a 2-point loss, but it was a close game for almost the entirety of it. Obviously, the season is in a different setting at the moment and the Hornets can take advantage of that. The Thunder appear to be in tank mode, but the Hornets are very clearly in playoff contention mode. We’ll see how it shakes out, but it would be a terrible loss if they lose tonight.

Friday night’s matchup however, is a totally different story. Milwaukee is one of the top teams in the East and are looking to get a higher seed. They’re only 2.5 games for the lead in the East and I’d say that is well within reach. A win against Charlotte would be big for them to get that top seed, but I know Charlotte won’t make it easy. In their only meeting this season, the Hornets got a big win. They won by 12, but that was with a healthy roster. LaMelo Ball was still coming off of the bench in that matchup but ended being the leading scorer for Charlotte. Giannis Antetokounmpo was an assist away from a monster triple-double in that contest as well. Sadly, I think it will be a different story on Friday, but I hope I am wrong.

The Hornets will go back home in what feels like almost an eternity to play the Hawks this Sunday afternoon. The Hawks are just above the Hornets in the standing and they have played a little better than expected this season. This will be the last meeting between the teams, but the Hornets have already won the season series. Hopefully they can get the season sweep, but it will definitely be a lot tougher this time around. The Hawks are also dealing with some player on the injury report, but most of those players may be healthy by the time Sunday rolls around. It is hard to stop Trae Young and the Hornets won’t have an easy time with that, but if it means anything, Young played horribly in the two previous matchups this season. Hopefully Charlotte can get a win in this big matchup at home.

The Lakers are the last team on the weekly ledger and they have some big injuries that they’re dealing with. LeBron James has been out since late March and Anthony Davis has been out of action since mid-February and is still without a timetable to return. They have a newly acquired Center in Andre Drummond, but he’s had some injury concerns as of late also. I fully expect him to play, but the Lakers are without some big-time players and this could be the Hornets chance to take advantage of a bad situation. Montrezl Harrell and Kyle Kuzma have had to step up in the absence of their stars and have played well but have dropped 6 of their last 10 games. We’ll see what happens on Tuesday, but the Hornets can take advantage of a down Lakers team, especially in a homecourt advantage matchup.

Yacs

Charlotte Hornets Report: Week 16 of 2020-21