I’m so glad I can report a Hornets win tonight. It’s hard to watch loss after loss, mixed with some really bad play calling, and poor decisions on the court, but tonight…
Yeah, I’m not going there. Another 20-point lead squandered away tonight as we win our game, 103-102.
I know it doesn’t matter if you win by 1 or 100. My issue is that we outscore the Knicks in every quarter, then fall apart in the 4th, and we just pray we can weather the storm to win the game. We got lucky tonight because the Knicks are struggling as bad, or worse than we are. In a game that we saw a 20-point lead, we still allowed 46.8% shooting, were outscored in the 4th, 33-18, and won by the skin of our teeth. We out-rebounded them 41-34, but that’s about it. Again we were smoked from 3-point land, allowing 10-22 (45.5%) while mustering only 4-18 (22.2%).
Want to guess who the leading scorer was tonight? Too bad, I’m just going to tell you.
Gerald Henderson was a very effective player from the floor tonight, scoring 22 points on 8-10 shooting from the floor (80% FG) with 2-3 from 3-point land. He also had 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block in 30:55 of on-court time. I should throw in that he was 4-5 from the foul line as well. Those look like starter numbers. I know he would need to prove himself by staying consistent, but he is shooting 61.6% from the floor over the last 5 games.
Are you wondering what everyone else did tonight? Any time Hendo has a game like that, I often wonder. Looking for Al and Kemba, 2 players I wanted benched in the last game? Here are their stats:
Al Jefferson – 16 points (on 8-21 shooting aka 38.1% shooting), no foul shots, 13 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocks. Do I think he needed to be benched tonight? No. Just concerned he took the 21 shots and made only 8.
Kemba Walker – 11 points (on 4-15 shooting, aka 26.7% shooting), 3-3 free throws, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. Do I think he needed to be benched tonight? No, but again, my starters shouldn’t be shooting south of 40% from the floor. Don’t get me wrong, a huge thank you for the game winner, but, it shouldn’t have needed to come to that if we’re protecting the lead we had.
That means that Al and Kemba combined for 33.3% FG percentage. The guys can’t keep doing that and expect wins.
As for the rest of the team:
Lance Stephenson – 16 points (on 7-15 shooting, aka 46.7% shooting), 2-2 free throws, 6 rebounds, & 6 assists. This is what I expect from my starter.
Cody Zeller – 6 points (on 2-4 shooting, aka 50% shooting), 2-2 foul shooting, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block. I’ll take those numbers since he only played 16:41.
Gary Neal – 13 points, 1 rebound, and 3 assists
Marvin Williams – 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists
Bismack Biyombo – 7 points (3-3 from the floor), 3 rebounds, & 2 blocks
PJ Hairston – 3 points & 1 rebound in 5:25 of playing time
Brian Roberts – 1 rebound in 8:57 of playing time
So, uh, there you have it. The streak is broken, we’re still struggling to close out games, Gerald Henderson and Lance Stephenson are playing like starters at the wings, and we have 5 days before our next game. I say we celebrate a little just because we have 5 days of rest, and we broke the streak. Now, in the next 5 days, let’s pray that the coaching staff figures out that Al and Kemba are taking way too many shots (or at least they’re missing too many), and they need to get the rest of the team involved. They didn’t figure it out with 3 days of rest, so maybe 5 days will help. I know that Gary Neal and Marvin Williams welcome this break so they can continue to mend. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist can also use this time to…well, wait on his reaction to heal so he can play. No one has really heard what his timetable is for return, but we all want him to not return until he is 100% healthy. This stretch has been brutal without him. 4 more games before Jeffery Taylor is available to play, and I keep wondering if we’ll have him available before MKG. I’ll take either or both, but I’ll be the first JT fan-boy to say that I can’t wait for his return. I think we’re going to see something amazing from him. Boston, Memphis, Brooklyn, and Cleveland are our next 4 games. Coach Clifford, Ewing, Price, & Silas, let’s figure out how to play 4 quarters and stop leaning so heavy on Al and Kemba. Keep the Hornets a team and win as a team. All 5 guys on the floor need to contribute in some way. I know you guys can figure it out…and hopefully, in the next 5 days, Noah Vonleh gets another step closer to being ready for some playing time. I know EVERYONE is looking forward to that as well.
In the meantime, let’s all just chill over the next 5 days and be ready for Wednesday, as Boston comes to town.
Let me hear it…
Let’s Go Hornets!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
