Kings @ Hornets (11/23/15)

This kind of game makes me nervous. The Kings have so much length in their lineup, and they are playing better under George Karl this season. I think the Hornets will really have their hands full. I watched. I had some notices:

• Demarcus Cousins: He is very good. Adding the three point shot to his arsenal, even though he shoots it too much, is a fantastic addition. He remains one of the top 2-3 scoring centers in the game. He got into some foul trouble in the 2nd, but still finished with 30 points in 31 minutes. He did still have a few of those odd Demarcus moments, but he was definitely a huge positive for the team tonight.
• Mental Toughness: Very interesting mood swings for this team tonight. They played together in the first half, had a little sloppiness, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. The third quarter was FUBAR. The Kings absolutely dominated until 2:00 left in the 3rd quarter. At that point, Zeller had a three point play, and then Kaminsky had a dunk, and that seemed to ignite the passionate 4th quarter and overtime. It was a super exciting game, but you would definitely like to see some mental consistency from this team in the future. Of course, the best way for a team to be consistent is to have a tough defense that can keep games close when the offense isn’t clicking.
• New lineup: Zeller and Kaminsky took the court together, for the first time that I can remember this season (I am fallible). Could be a precursor of things to come, seeing if those two can play together. Kaminsky played well out there, taking advantage of some mismatches with the Kings’ switching defense. Those two bigs stayed on the floor for the entirety of the Hornet’s huge comeback in the 4th as well, AND played the entire overtime.
• Kemba Walker: He really plays at his best when he doesn’t have to worry AS MUCH about creating for other players. In the fourth quarter, Walker really got on a roll. When he looks to score first, he becomes ultra aggressive, which also helped him create open shots for Batum and Lin as the quarter went on. He stayed unstoppable the entire 4th quarter, and then the rest of the team helped him out in overtime. He finished the game with a very “#1 option guy” 39 points, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks.

The Hornets are the blood pressure team of the year! A 127-122 win in OT. Good stuff. I was all ready to write up the “Hornets return to .500 post” so I don’t really know what to say now. The Hornets really showed a lot of heart. If they can play consistent, like Kemba said to our main girl, Stephanie Ready, at the end of the game, then they can continue on an upward path towards the playoffs!