Watching the Hornets gets more and more frustrating with every game played. Our beloved Bugs came from being down 21-points, to working hard in the 2nd half and almost winning the game. Unfortunate for us that we were so determined to let the guys who got us back into the game win it for us, that we just threw caution to the wind and wore our guys completely out. There are many things that I understand about basketball. I mean, I’ve played before, I’ve coached a little, and I watch a LOT. I understand the need for scorers and for defenders. I also understand what fatigue can do to a player.
Our guys were just plain exhausted when we got to overtime. We allowed 21 points in overtime. We only scored 10.
I really believe that the overtime could have been avoided, but, I am not the coach, I have never coached a professional basketball team, and it was not my decision to run 2 – 6’ guards, an undersized SF, undersized PF, and Cody at C. Granted, I wanted to see Cody at C, but I would have liked to have seen Michael Kidd-Gilchrist in there at some point. If you will recall, Cody blocked the game tying shot, and no one rebounded the blocked shot. Cody was still able to spring up to block the second attempt, but he failed in doing so. If MKG had been in there, I would have felt much more confident that the game would have ended in regulation. We all know what happened.
You know, I say this a hundred times, and I’ll say it until I draw my last breath: I understand wanting offensive threats on the court down the stretch, but when those threats are few and far between, you better sprinkle in some hard-nosed defenders. We’ve won a game…maybe two, where we did that. We have seen the choice to remain with offense-minded players remaining on the court and seen more losses than wins.
Al’s groin strain is at an epic level now. He’s been ridden too hard, and he had to shut it down early in the 2nd half yesterday. Now, it’s questionable if he’ll be available Wednesday. For those keeping score, there are 15 on the roster, 2 of which are in the D-league, 1 with a pelvic sprain, and 1 with a strained groin. That leaves 11 available, and I’m not going to name the 11 that are available. I see a group that I would use to really run down other teams, but they won’t be used. I’d like to see Kemba, Hendo, MKG, Williams and Cody, and a second unit of Roberts, Neal, Hairston, Cody and Biz. I have to stress that Cody would sit at some point in the 1st and Biz would come in at C. Into the 2nd, Cody could rotate in for Williams, then Maxiell for Biz, then Williams for Maxiell. Hey, maybe I COULD do this…nah
Guys, we got Houston tomorrow, in Houston. Keep your heads up Hornets fans. As a lifelong fan of the NBA in Charlotte, there have always been dark days, and we usually figure it out. We’ll figure this out as well.
Let’s Go Hornets!
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