People say that the NBA is changing. It has become a faster paced game where the 3-point shot is key. They say that the old days of banging in the paint for 2 points is just a thing of the past. Does anyone want to tell Big Al Jefferson that? Last night, he erupted with 31 points, 9 rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot.
Everyone has been waiting on Al to have a game like that. There had even started to be a little criticism about the 20+ pounds lost in the off-season. They said that now Al was just getting pushed around in the paint and what he once could provide for this team was gone. My first argument point against that was that we had only played 4 regular season games prior to last night. It’s an 82-game season, so just wait for it. Al is traditionally a slow starter at the beginning of the season. We have seen that pretty much every year. The team has 7 new guys, so a slow start was inevitable in order to see what we had and see what works and doesn’t work. My second argument point was that the weight loss was necessary to preserve his knees and ankles against injuries during the rigors of the season. My last argument point was that the team really hasn’t gone to Al any at all. They may pass to him early on, but if he was off, they abandoned him and went to something else that worked. The result in that case was that Al couldn’t get in a rhythm, and we didn’t get to see the Al of old.
Al needs to get touches in the game and he needs to get into rhythm. I understand that the NBA really is changing, and quick ball movement is key. 3-point shots are also a key in the NBA game style now. Even a fast paced game is a new facet of the NBA, but the fact of the matter is that when you have a player like Al, when legs on the wings look tired, you can go to Al, let him get into his rhythm, and let him score points. The result is that the wings catch their breath, Al gets going and draws the double team again, and then the 3-point shot comes available again.
Last night was not like the game Tuesday versus the Bulls. I don’t think anyone expected it to be. The 3-point shooting north of 60% did not happen last night. Instead, the Hornets were 6 of 27 from the 3-point line, putting up a very weak 22.2% shooting percentage. Now in the first 3 games, we saw a Hornets team where when the 3-point shot wasn’t falling, we curled up and died, so to speak. We saw poor shooting and forcing the 3 to fall. Last night’s game, the 3 wasn’t falling, so we went to the paint, and we went to it HARD! In addition to Al’s 31, Cody Zeller had 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and a blocked shot. Marvin Williams continues on his double-double tear, scoring 17 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block.
Scoring came also from the UConn connection on the Hornets. Kemba Walker had 14 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists on only 1 turnover, and a steal. Kemba is still struggling with his shot (36.4% FG / 20% 3-pt), but with all of the firepower around him, I’m hoping he starts focusing on being more of a distributor and less of a scorer, scoring only when he has to. The other half of the UConn connection, Jeremy Lamb, had 16 points on 7-11 shooting (63.6%) and 2-4 from the 3-point line (50%). Lamb is really making his case as for why he’s going to be a Hornet for the next few years.
Other notable players:
Nic Batum – 8 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block
Jeremy Lin – 7 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block
PJ Hairston – 4 points, 3 rebounds, and a steal
Most trams thrive on a 9-man rotation. We had 8 players score the ball last night. I’m thinking we may be finding our stride. It isn’t going to be easy though. We face the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. Those guys always bring it all to the table and are never an easy match-up. I will say, however, the Hornets have won 2 games in a row and they want to get a streak going. It’s time for the Hornets to show the NBA just want they can do. Doubters beware!
Let’s Go Hornets!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
