THERE WE GO, THAT IS MORE LIKE IT!
First, and foremost, you’re welcome. You may be wondering what I’ve done for you but, the proof is in the pudding, kids. I have not watched the Hornets lose since week 2 or 3 of the season. I haven’t been able to watch lately and they went on a losing streak. I made a point to watch tonight, we won. I accept PayPal. ON TO THE GAME!
The Hornets played a sloppy first half but, cleaned up their act and dominated the hot-handed Atlanta Hawks on both ends of the floor in the second half. Everything was falling late for a recently poor shooting Hornets team. They were led, once again by the play of Kemba Walker(23pts) and Cody Zeller(19pts 10 rebounds). Batum had a quiet night offensively but, contributed huge dividends with his passing(10 assists)and defense. The Hornets got back into the game play that helped them get such a hot start to the season, clamping down on the Hawks with a 107-84 WIN!
First quarter started HOT for the Hornets as they jumped out to a 17-2 lead. Of course, like all good things, that came crashing back down as the Hawks woke up and capitalized on poor shooting and turnovers. The early lead was propelled by the passing of Kemba and Batum, followed by the endless motor and cutting of Cody Zeller. The unit of Lin, Lamb, Kaminsky, Hawes and Troy Daniels(???) looked awful on defense, allowing Atlanta to close the lead to only 4 points with a little over a minute left in the quarter. Shot selection by the Hornets was just atrocious late in the first. Lin and Lamb were making very bad attempts at hero ball(bombing threes and dribbling way too freakin much). Absolutely baffling that two completely different teams showed up in the first alone. They lead 20-19 at the end of one(after leading 17-2. wrap your head around that, unreal).
Before we get to the second, let’s take a second to speculate how much fun this team might be once it’s healthy. Al is slated to return in a few weeks and MKG(!!!!!) will be back probably before or, slightly after, the All-Star break. Need I remind you all that they are both nearly 10pts better per 100 possessions offensively with MKG on the floor(not to mention his crazy good defense). SO, let’s move on to the more depressing part, this losing streak we’re currently part of.
Defense wasn’t the problem early in the second, shooting was. Early in the second, they were 2/13 from deep. They had already attempted 13 three-point shots by early in the second. This simply didn’t bode well. This team is built on solid-mediocre defense and anchored with low turnover passing to get good looks. Love him or hate him, Kemba Walker is simply the leader of this team. He’s playing his heart out and we should appreciate it because, when it’s all said and done, there won’t be a better PG in the history of the Hornets. There is a solid positive theme here, though. The Hornets had 6 blocked shots and were getting assists while Kemba was on the floor. Kemba simply makes the defense move differently just by being on the floor. Kaminsky BURIED a deep three(created by ball movement, shock) that allowed the Hornets to extend a 10-0 that put them up 32-21 late in the second quarter. It was sloppy on both sides of the ball but, the Hornets maintained a lead late in the half, 45-46.
Marvin Williams got open looks early on but absolutely CLANKED a number of wide open three-point shots. Kyle Korver started hitting from beyond the arc and made those misses hurt. Passing looked better early but, like I said earlier, this is the offense that Kemba and Batum create. Batum and Kemba simply being on the court made all of the difference. The Hawks and Hornets traded baskets early but, this worked in the Hornets favor as they maintained the lead. Clearly, our second unit is going through a little bit of a funk. What should be on everyone’s minds is that this is a great time to slump. It’s the middle of the season, everyone knows what we are capable of and we have plenty of time to get out of said slump. Steve Clifford has established a system that WORKS. It’s simply about the guys on the floor executing it. Marvin Williams got redemption from his early miscues and knocked down a number of key shots to keep the Hawks runs at bay. On a side note, we really need someone in the Hornets organization to make a shirt that says “Welcome To Your Batum!”. I’d buy it and it sounds like “Welcome To Your Doom”. Batum hit a freakish 1-handed three pointer while being fouled and I thought I might get a noise complaint. Moving on to other awesome players on the Hornets, Cody Zeller. His ability to cut to the basket is incredible. Not only that, he’s making those shots while getting fouled. Batum and Kemba find him frequently and it makes establishing a commanding lead much easier. At the end of three, said commanding lead was 80-58 with the Hornets on top.
What were all of the Hornets losses missing? Solid team play on both sides of the ball. What did the Hornets do tonight? Hit open shots, cut to the basket, moved the ball well and played great defense. The Hornets built a massive lead and maintained it throughout the fourth quarter. It was great to see them hit their stride again. They were smiling and they were playing like the team we’ve seen them be so often this season. This was a fun game to watch. Couple of observations here. The second Tyler Hansborough enters the game, he is either fouled or fouls someone. It’s absolutely baffling. He shoots free throws all the time. Frank Kaminsky is gaining confidence consistently. His moves to the basket were well timed and well executed. Those shots will fall.
The Hornets schedule gets a little more favorable(FINALLY) going into New Orleans on Friday, at home against the Bucks Saturday and then a mid-day game against the Jazz on Monday. Hopefully, they can build on this victory and right the ship.
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