Take a good look at the picture for this article. I count 5 spectators watching Dwayne Wade making a layup. By spectators, I’m referring to our Hornets starters.
Not a whole lot can be said about the first game of the playoffs for the Hornets. I’m really late to the party in terms of publishing a recap, but it is on purpose. That may sound a little crazy, but it‘s the truth. It’s actually taken a couple days to calm down from the embarrassment that was on display Sunday. I truly felt embarrassed. Every fan that reads my work, every friend that I have, to every co-worker that has asked me about the Hornets this year; I felt like I had lied to them all. I had preached about how this was THE YEAR for the Hornets. I told them how I predicted 50-wins this season and that we would go deep into the playoffs. I even believed that this series would be a good one and a hard fought one, but we would come away victorious. Let me just say that I am PRAYING that game 1 was just nerves and that we will NEVER see a game like that out of the Hornets in this playoff series again.
So, how upset was I? I quit watching about 5 minutes into the 3rd quarter. My anger wasn’t so much our offense as it was our defense. To be a team known for defense, we looked like a bunch of amateurs on the floor. We allowed the Heat to shoot 50% from the 3-point line. We allowed them to shoot 57.6% from the floor. We let them out-rebound us 42 – 28. We were out-assisted 27 – 11. The only thing we did better than them was turn the ball over (11 -6). I jokingly went and got my Bobcats hat and put on at halftime. Even the Bobcats played LeBron and the Heat better in the last playoff appearance, than our Hornets did this time around. Alas, it didn’t help the effort. I can only pray that the game tomorrow night, the defensive intensity can match the intensity we have seen all season. Our 43.1% field goal percentage wasn’t terrible, but only scoring 91 points in the game? That can’t happen. We haven’t flirted below 95 points many times at all this season. Batum had 24 and Kemba had 19, but beyond those guys, I have to look to Al Jefferson for another double-digit scorer. You cannot win a playoff series and play as poorly as we did. I really thought that there would be a fire in the Hornets’ bellies knowing that 1 more win would have given them a home-court advantage. That was not the case. Now my only hope is that being embarrassed on the national stage on Sunday was enough to awaken a beast, a SWARM of rage. Hopefully, that rage will help the Hornets even the series tomorrow night. I guess we will find out tomorrow, right Hornets fans?
Come on guys…
#KeepSwarming
Let’s Go Hornets!
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