In recapping our Charlotte Hornets, I really believed that I would have been writing about this first road win of the season about 2 games ago, when we played the slumping Lakers. Then, with the way the first half went in Portland, I just knew that our first road win was going to come against the Trailblazers. Well, it took up to last night to claim that first victory, but with the way the first quarter ended, down 14 to 28, I really didn’t have a good feeling about things.
The Hornets were playing without Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who has a stress reaction in his foot and was not available last night, and will not be available tonight against the Warriors. He has been, by far, one of the brightest spots on the team, bringing his endless hustle and energy to every game. I still see comments about him not having a jumper. I always stop and tell whoever is saying it to perhaps watch a Hornets game and educate themselves about the team because the kid found a jumper this summer and is a threat to other teams now. That jumper opens up a whole new world for his game, and it was something that is being missed right now. In his place last night, Lance Stephenson and PJ Hairston took over at the wing spots to start the game.
Might I interject as well that being a starter is just a position to begin the game at in order find out what rotation works best. We were missing MKG, Marvin Williams had a sore Achilles, and we started the game with Kemba, Hairston, Stephenson, Williams, and Jefferson. As any coach will do, Coach Clifford went to the bench to figure out what combo would suit us best in this game. From that 14-28 score in the first, the initial combo wasn’t working. Couple that with Kemba having a stiff back, and a win did not look to be in the picture. Flash forward to a 33-19 second quarter, and obviously Clifford started getting the pieces to fit together. The Hornets combinations continued to mesh well as they completed the game with a 27-28 point 3rd and a 29-20 4th to take the victory.
Let me be the first to say that I have been stomping my feet and pointing fingers at Coach Clifford for some of his substitutions. I have not been a fan of how long he has stuck with Brian Roberts at point guard late in the game. I did not like the Jason Maxiell experiment. You all know I haven’t been very supportive of it because I mention it here and in my Twitter posts. Well, I’m not 100% saying, “I told you so”, but in 14 minutes, Biz had 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 11 points. I’ve been pretty “on point” about some of our guys from last year. I was right about MKG, I was right about Cody Zeller, who had 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 8 points, and I may wind up being right that Biz is going to produce more on any given night than Maxiell has in the past 8 games. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of Biz as the season goes on. Clifford is still learning the chemistry and each player’s strengths. He has to learn how the guys who were there before have gotten better and how to fit them into the rotation, how the new guys fit into the rotation, and how they all blend together. As I mentioned, being a starter isn’t everything. Sometimes the second unit winds up being the unit that makes things work better. Gary Neal (14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal) and Cody Zeller both played 25 minutes, and that’s more than Hairston (9 points and 2 rebounds) and Williams (5 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal) played as starters.
We just have to be patient with this team and with the coach. Everyone that played last night scored some points. As a team, we were 18 for 19 from the foul line, had 46 rebounds, 21 assists, and shot north of 40% from 3-point range.
I was very proud of the team as they played as a team, 5 players were in double figures, and it was a “team” victory. I’ll also say that Bismack Biyombo was my Trade Street Post player of the game because he’s sat and watched 8 games, then comes in and posts a double-double. Saying I’m proud of him doesn’t even begin to express my feelings towards him.
As this road trip goes, I fully expected to win against the Lakers and to struggle against the Blazers, Suns, and Warriors. We’ve played really good in each game and could have easily been going into tonight’s game with a 3-0 road record. Instead, we’re still working on getting the pieces and chemistry to fall into place, and perhaps, after tonight’s game against the Warriors, we come home Monday to play the Mavericks with a .500 record. I’ll be proud of them, regardless of the record. All I can say is I’m ready to win in Golden State tonight, and then come home and beat the Mavericks as the Charlotte Hornets. One game at a time though, so, as always…
Let’s Go Hornets!
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