So, do we blame the second loss in a row on being tired, lack of chemistry, poor shooting, a 5-second call that wasn’t 5 seconds…
I can say we lost 93-96 to the Knicks. Why? Well, that was the score. What did we do wrong? Does it paint a fair picture of how the team played? Not really. Looking quarter by quarter, the teams each played a decent game. Both teams shot north of 45% from the field (CLT shot 47.1% and New York shot 50%). Assists and rebounds were fairly equal, as was 3-pointers. Charlotte actually got to the foul line more times and made more shots. So why did we lose?
Let’s chalk this on up to being a really good game with really good offense and defense, and a botched call in the end that killed momentum, and cost us the game. Al Jefferson had 21 points, Gary Neal had 17, Kemba had 16, and Lance Stephenson had 14. The one name missing from this list that could have probably made a difference in Carmelo’s 28 points is Michael Kidd-Glichrist. 9 minutes into the first quarter, he grabbed a rebound and took a nasty fall. He landed on his ribs. He would not return. A rib contusion was the diagnosis (A rib contusion is a bruise to one or more rib bones. It may cause pain, tenderness, swelling, and a purplish discoloration. There may be a sharp pain with each breath. A rib contusion takes from a few days to a few weeks to heal). MKG is a tough guy and I’m betting that it will take more than this to keep him from playing in the next game (Tuesday in New Orleans). MKG has been the one hustle guy out on the floor every game this season and has been our wildcard guy that has kept the team in it for most of the games. Here’s to hoping that MKG has a speedy recovery. We need what you bring. It was great to see Lance starting to click with the team. Comfort and chemistry will come. We just have to be patient.
Can someone explain to me why it seems that at the start of every NBA season, I have difficulty deciding who has more rust, the players or the refs? Saturday night, the Hornets looked rusty starting out, just like at the season opener, but the calls that the refs are making are just terrible. The 5-second violation last night, the ball was almost in Lance’s hands when they called it. Is the rule that the inbounds player has to have possession of the ball in 5 seconds or is it that the ball has to be out of the hands of the player inbounding the ball? I’ll also say that on that counting motion the ref makes, that had swing for “5” came faster than the first 4. Now I’ve heard folks saying that the Hornets had a chance at the end to win it and blew it. This is true, but a botched call like this kills momentum of a team, especially for one playing game 2 of a back-to-back. The Hornets played 5-on-8 the night before when they faced the Grizzlies, and last night in New York was only marginally better. I just often get the feeling that there is a bit of bias to certain teams. The Hornets are going to have to earn some respect before they gain any of that bias I guess.
One last thing I am trying to figure out is the player rotations. Last night would have been ideal to have Jeff Taylor available, but that won’t happen until the NBA decides what to do to him because of his recent arrest. He would be my go-to choice to put in when MKG went down with his injury. I wonder, however, if Coach Clifford would have put him in. I know he is trying to sort out some team chemistry and figure out what works best together on the court, but I’m wondering why we haven’t seen the likes of PJ Hairston or Bismack Biyombo in any games yet. I saw Biz as a better fit against the frontcourt of the Grizzlies than Maxiell, and even last night in New York. When the Hornets were struggling to score on Saturday night, I just knew Hairston was going to get a chance. That didn’t happen. I thought with an injured MKG, we’d see Hairston last night, but, again, no PJ. Instead we got some of Gerald Henderson who had 4 points last night (0-5, but he hit foul shots), and 8 points Saturday (4-7 shooting). I’m not mentioning his season opener where he didn’t score at all. It just seems like we are so desperate to make Henderson work that we aren’t trying PJ at all. I know it’s way too early to complain about something like this, but I can’t help it. I believe that Biz could have really helped out against the Grizzlies and Hairston could have helped out against the Grizzlies and against New York. Coach Clifford knows best though, so for now, I’ll not complain any more.
I would like the NBA to hurry up though and let us have Taylor back.
I’m done for now…really…
Let’s Go Hornets!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
