After Tuesday’s game in Madison Square Garden, there was a lot of scrutiny over Kemba Walker. I was part of that scrutiny. I’ll admit it up front that I can’t stand it when Kemba plays “hero ball”. When his shot is falling, he gets tunnel vision and sometimes fails to get his teammates involved. No one can deny that this happens. Many do, but their reason is clouded. I agree with the reason why he goes into “hero mode”. That reason is a simple one: no one else on the team can hit a shot. He’s been a victim of that his entire career here in Charlotte. I want to argue that he should just keep trying with his teammates and keep getting the ball to them and let them shoot their way out of it. Kemba’s tragic flaw, if you want to call it that, is that he doesn’t like to lose. Honestly, no one does. So what was the result of Kemba’s “Hero Ball”? The Hornets lost to the Knicks by a score of 102-94. The standout numbers from the box score was that Kemba scored 31 points but only had 1 assist. No one on the team could hit a shot other than Kemba. By the end of the game, everyone was in hero monde, shooting 3 pointers as soon as they caught the ball. In terms of the starters, Kemba’s scoring help came from Al Jefferson’s 10 points. That was pretty much it. Shooting 25% from the 3-point line didn’t help either. From the bench, Spencer Hawes (14 points), Jeremy Lin (13 points), and Jeremy Lamb (12 points) did what they could to bolster scoring, but the glaring number was that we only had 13 assists on 36 made shots. We are continuing to see a trend of poor foul shooting as well. We were 17-25 from the foul line (68%) If we’re getting to the line 25 times, we need as many of those free points as we can get. Had Nic Batum (4 points) or Marvin Williams (2 points) had chipped in more points and we had won, perhaps we wouldn’t have even mentioned that Kemba only had 1 assist. Historically, a team can’t win if one player has to carry the team. Jordan couldn’t do it without a supporting cast, and neither can Kemba. With that said, Kemba answered the calls last night for more assists.
The Hornets headed back home to face the other half of New York State’s NBA team, the Brooklyn Nets. Though there was a sluggish start, the Hornets were very solid in their game play. They came away victorious last night by the score of 116 – 111. How was this feat accomplished? I have the very simple answer. Any team that can play “team basketball”, where everyone contributes, it’s going to be real hard to beat them. The Hornets made 39 shots off of 27 assists. That’s a big deal for me. It stresses that the ball moved around and the open guy made his shots. Out-rebounding the Nets 49- 37 is also a big deal. We’ve been struggling as of late with that category, so it was good to see us on top of securing those missed shots again.
Does all of the ball movement mean that Al Jefferson had a low night in scoring? Not even close. Al fit right in scoring 18 point, grabbing 8 rebounds, dishing 2 assists, and even blocking a couple shots. Nic Batum returned to form, bringing his intensity to the court, scoring 24 points, dishing 8 assists, grabbing a rebound, a steal and 2 blocks. It doesn’t stop there when team ball is played. Marvin Williams also contributed 14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a block. Cody Zeller was the other starter for the night. His night was a quiet one. He only grabbed 5 rebounds in 14 minutes. His hustle never shows up in the stat lines, but trust me when I tell you that he played a very solid game. The guy who got some minutes from Zeller, Frank Kaminsky, had a great night. He scored 11 points on 4-6 shooting (1-2 from 3-pt land) and hitting 2 foul shots. Being a rookie, that set his new career high in points. He also was able to grab 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block on the night. We have always heard our rookies talk about the NBA game speed and how much faster it is than in college game situations. As they gain playing time at the NBA level, they often say that the game is slowing down for them in their mind. That translation is that they are getting used to it and getting comfortable. I’m wondering if what we saw last night was a glimpse of Frank getting comfortable.
Frank wasn’t the only one to help off of the bench. Jeremy Lin chipped in 13 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal. That’s quite a solid set of number s, and something that Lin keeps giving us night in and night out. I’m so glad he’s a Hornet. Spencer Hawes contributed 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. Rounding out the scorers was Jeremy Lamb with 6 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, and a block.
What’s my negative from this game? Foul shooting again was a dark spot in a game that could have been a lot less close if the guys did their job at the charity stripe. Out of 36 attempts at the line, we only converted 27 (75%). While that’s better than Tuesday, I have always felt that any NBA team should never drop out of the 80% or higher range. Especially when I look at the player that is struggling…Kemba…
I’m not attacking Kemba. I want to motivate him. I know he can do better and I know that his misses are eating away at him. He just has to clear his mind and work through it. If we can have a Kemba Walker putting up 18 to 23 points a night and dishing 7 – 10 assists with only 1-2 turnovers, there’s no way he’s not given an all-star nod from the coaches.
It was a good win last night that put us back up as a .500 team. It was also the beginning of a 7-game home stand, a record for the Hornets to be at home. This is the chance to really step up and take advantage of the home court. Everyone in attendance needs to step up as well and be that 6th man that pushes the team to win every game. Make the Hive Buzz! We have the winless Sixers coming into town on Friday (let’s not be the team to give them their first win), followed by the Kings on Monday. After that, Thanksgiving week we face the Wizards on Wednesday the 25th, the Cavs on Friday the 27th, and the Bucks on Sunday the 29th. We close out the home stand with the red hot Warriors coming into town for Dell Curry Night on Wednesday, December 2nd. There are no back-to-back games in there, so hopefully the guys can stay rested, focused, and we can start making some real noise in the Eastern Conference. Come on Queen City! Let’s pack the Hive and make it BUZZ during this home stand!
Let’s Go Hornets!
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