The Hornets got their first glimpse of the new “Big 3” as they Visited, LeBron, Love, and Irving in Cleveland. After a 21-0 start for the Cavs, the Hornets second unit came in and did what they could to make a game of it. Down only 9 points, entering the 3rd quarter, perhaps things would start swinging the Hornets way. While the 3rd and 4th quarter would be the best 2 quarters the 2 teams would play against each other, the Hornets would fall short, falling to a 6-18 record.
Out-rebounded and out-assisted again. I won’t mention numbers. It doesn’t really matter. In 32 minutes, Al gave 14 points and 8 rebounds, Kemba had 24 points with 5 assists and 5 rebounds in 34 minutes. In 15 minutes, Bismack Biyombo had 7 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 4 points. Lance had 8 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists.
Cody Zeller had Anderson Varejao land on his head, taking him out of most of the second half of the game.
My energy and patience is fleeting with this roster and coaching staff. Things that need to be changed are not being changed. We continue to ride Al on offense when he is on the floor. The result has been the opposite of last season. We see many sub 20-point games, and zero defense. Al doesn’t even get his hands up on defense. That’s something that they teach children at the youngest of ages. What can we do? Lance likes to hold the ball until the last possible second entirely too much. One point last night, Gary Neal was wide open for at least 7 seconds, and Lance didn’t get the ball to him until the defense had rotated over to him. The result was a rushed 3-pointer that was off the mark.
So, what is my opinion as to what we should do with this team? Well, I’ve been asked plenty of times what my opinion is on Twitter. If you’ve been following tonight, I’ve thrown a lot of stuff out there via NBA Trade machine. For the most part, I’m ready to part ways with Lance AND Al. Al is not anywhere close to what he was last season, and Lance isn’t what we needed. I’ve thrown out names like Thomas Robinson, Robin Lopez, Goran Dragic, Aaron Afflalo, Brook Lopez, Anthony Tolliver, David West, and Rodney Stuckey. I’m trying to move the likes of Marvin Williams, Al Jefferson, Lance Stephenson, and I used Pargo once to make it work out. I’d be willing to move Roberts as well. Bottom line is that everyone is looking at Lance and blaming him. We’ve added 5 players (Vonleh, Hairston, Williams, Stephenson, and Roberts) to this team and none are seeming to fit into place. We’re playing terribly, and I’ve even read that Taylor, though available tomorrow, will not see court time. I believe we are in panic mode, but not a “trade everyone” panic mode. We should be throwing PJ, Vonleh, Taylor…any combo out there to see what works. That isn’t happening.
I’ll be at the game tomorrow, section 116, row L, if anyone wants to talk about what they think we should do. I’d love to discuss the team.
As always,
Let’s Go Hornets!
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