Hornets off to a Rough Start to the Season, Fall to the Pelicans

Don’t let that 100-91 score fool you; the Hornets are not clicking on offense at all.  The last thing we can do as fans is panic.  It hasn’t been a pretty launch to the Hornets 2.0.  We should have all expected it though.  There is a ton of chemistry to be worked out with the team.  Kemba, Al, and Lance all have to learn how to play together.  The glaring thing I am seeing is that Lance is too unselfish with the ball.  I question whether his health is at 100% or not.  I’m not seeing the inside-out game that we all thought we would see with Kemba, Lance, and Al.  We just all have to bear in mind that even last year, those Bobcats were slow starters.  Once they got into rhythm, great things began to happen.

So how bad was it?  At the half we had a 1 point lead.  Can anyone remember the “Ice Age” 3^rd quarters that the Bobcats used to have?  Last night’s game revealed one such Ice Age.  We were outscored in the 3^rd quarter 17 to 26, and I believe our first basket was scored a little over the 6 minute mark in the 3^rd.  Gary Neal scored 21 points, Al Jefferson netted 20 points, and Kemba had 11.  We were outrebounded by 13 boards, and that speaks volumes.  MKG has never been more valuable to this team.  His ability to grab rebounds was dearly missed last night.  His double-digit scoring was also missed.  Hendo’s 6 points and 2 rebounds pale in comparison to what Gilchrist has been putting up.  Lance had 7 rebounds and 4 assists, but only 2 points.  I’m just not really sure what could be done right now to “fix” these Hornets.  I know no fans want to hear me go on and on about chemistry and learning roles, but that is the sad truth.  They will have to learn roles and expectations.  We’ve had these issues before, and they work themselves out.  This will as well, but we need to have patience.  Lance needs to know that we are all behind him, and if the pressure is too much for him right now, we, as fans, need to lift him up and show him our support for him.  He needs to know that Hornets fans are like family, and we’ll be with him until he figures it all out.

Now, as far as the rest of the team goes, we should have them watch old film to see what works.  We need to go with what works.  Kemba and Al worked last year.  The new additions are that MKG has a jumper and is playing great, and we have Lance, who can do it all.  If Lance sees what Hendo did last year and can add to it that would be great.  Honestly, I think we are just struggling right now for someone to be “the man” on the team and take charge.  I believe you have a primary scorer and you need to utilize that until the defense takes that away, then you move to the next option.  Balanced scoring is great, but sometimes the balanced scoring results in a loss.  Usually you have 2-3 guys who put up some really good numbers, and then the rest of the team is balanced in contributing.  We’re not seeing that yet.  It will come with time.

I’d also like to end the Maxiell experiment.  Biz has the athleticism to give more than 1 rebound in a game, and he can block shots.  I’m even willing to say that Biz can give you 5 points if you need him to, but he should be in there for THIS version of the team to rebound and block shots.  I’m just scratching my head on how Biz has yet to be used.  I thought Maxiell was a last option, should all others be injured.  Then again, I was thinking the same of Pargo, but I’m almost thinking I’d rather see him on the court than Roberts…then I just keep telling myself…patience…

I’m a fan of Zeller starting at power forward at some point this season.  I believe that Williams is the better option at times, in certain match-ups, but Zeller is really stepping it up for the team (9 points, 5 rebounds, & 2 assists in 23 minutes of play).  I’ll give the guy credit where credit is due.  He’s a fast learner and fun to watch play.

One last gripe…I want Kemba playing more than 27 minutes.  He needed to be in the game when we were struggling in the 3^rd…and the 4^th.  Bringing him in with a little time left in the 4^th just seems to be too little too late.  Even if he’s off, he has the ability to play past it.  Roberts’ 6 assists and 4 points on 1-5 shooting does not scream to me that he needs to be on the court for 20 minutes.  That’s just my opinion.

We face the Miami Heat tonight.  Let’s break the losing streak tonight.  This makes the 2^nd back-to-back home-away or away-home game of the season…for those keeping count.

Time to stop the losing streak.

Let’s Go Hornets!