Last night’s game was like many of the Hornets games this season. It was full of highs and lows. It was full of bright spots and dark spots. In the end, however, the Hornets just shifted into overdrive and won their last game of the regular season.
Positives from last night’s game include that none of our starters netted more than 21 minutes. Nic Batum got the night off, and the bench got a LOT of playing time to knock rust off and get into a little bit of a rhythm.
Any time you have your bench players in for double-digit minutes, either you’re blowing a team out, or you’re being blown out. Last night, however, I believe that the bench minutes were purely to get those guys who seldom see court time some real minutes to really get into a rhythm for the playoffs and to get the starters some rest. To give you an idea as to just how much time the bench got on the floor, you never really saw any starters on the court from the final 1-1/2 quarters of the game. That’s not to say that the game didn’t get a little exciting. Orlando made quite a run in the 3rd quarter, getting to within 6 by the end of the 3rd quarter. Fortunately, with the extended playing time, even the guys that are on the end of the bench got into a rhythm, and were able to pull away. Jeremy Lamb led all players in minutes, with 30. In those 30 minutes, he had 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and 3 blocks. Troy Daniels was next in line with 27 minutes. He produced 13 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal. Big Al got some much needed minutes with 23. He was the player of the game, scoring 26 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and a block. Every Hornet that saw playing time last night scored some points. Let me list the starters and their numbers on the night:
Marvin Williams – 10 minutes / 11 points/ 4 rebounds
Cody Zeller – 13 minutes / 3 points / 3 rebounds / 1 steal
Jeremy Lin – 21 minutes / 10 points / 4 rebounds / 4 assists
Kemba Walker – 18 minutes / 2 points / 1 rebound / 8 assists
Courtney Lee – 14 minutes / 7 points / 1 rebound / 2 assists / 2 steals
As you can see, it was a short night for the starters, and they all were in desperate need of a night off before the playoffs Sunday.
As for #BenchForceOne:
Tyler Hansbrough – 12 minutes / 8 points / 1 rebound / 1 assist
Spencer Hawes – 18 minutes / 12 points / 5 rebounds / 3 assists / 1 block
Frank Kaminsky – 20 minutes / 3 points / 2 rebounds / 1 assist
Jorge Gutierrez – 18 minutes / 4 points / 4 rebounds / 4 assists
Aaron Harrison – 16 minutes / 6 points / 5 rebounds / 1 assist / 1 steal
I mentioned “dark spots” in the game. They are small dark spots. I didn’t like that Frank was 1-5 and only had 3 points and 2 rebounds. He looked a little timid on the court. He’s going to have to shift into overdrive in the post season. I’ve seen him play against Kevin Love and be very successful at it. We will need that in the playoffs. The only other dark spot is that I am hoping that Batum gathered no rust and is ready to go on Sunday. Sometimes players need a game or so to get back into the flow, and when the playoffs come, there is no game available to get back into that flow. Every game is important. They guys needed rest, but they need to come out firing on all cylinders in Miami Sunday.
We needed last night’s game in a big way. We needed the win as a strong finish to the regular season in order to be pumped up and ready for the playoffs. We needed the starters to rest as much as they could. Most importantly, I believe that Al Jefferson needed a night like last night in order to remember what he is capable of doing. It let us all remember just what he can bring to the team. I was at last night’s game, and eventually, my mind lost track of just how many points Al had scored. It was refreshing to see him basically “leading” that second unit while Lin was playing with the first unit.
Bottom line for me is a simple one. I fully believe we can beat any Eastern Conference team in these playoffs. I believe that we can advance to the 2nd round. I’ve even gone so far as to say that I could see us in the Eastern Conference Finals. Ask my blog site brothers. Ask Rich Cho. We talked about it at lunch one day, and I was the one guy who had predicted at the beginning of the year that we would see 50 wins. At the lunch that day, I said more like 48 (That was March 16th). I said that we could easily be in the Eastern Conference Finals.
I believe in this team. I always have. Stay tuned NBA fans…Hornets post-season is buzzing your way, and DO NOT take us lightly
#KeepSwarming
Let’s Go Hornets!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
