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!

Sixers @ Hornets (11/20/15)

We must pull ahead of the median line! To be average is to be ordinary, and we must strive for 1 game above .500!!!! I watched. This is what I saw.

• Starters: New starting lineup tonight. Batum, Walker, Lin, Williams, Jefferson start the game, as Zeller and Hairston were out for tonight. Missing two players obviously dips into the Hornets depth a bit, but they held up just fine, as Brian Roberts played the backup point guard when both Lin and Kemba were out.
• Big Al: He was showing the veteran savvy tonight. He put Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor in the spin cycle, the pump fake cycle, and every other kind of post move cycle in the first quarter. He finished that quarter with 14 points on 8 shots, and ended the game with an efficient 26 points, 10 boards, and 5 blocks.
• Challenge: Could the Hornets put the fallen team down? The Hornets were up big at half, leading 62-41, but could they keep up a decent amount of pressure when the game felt over? The answer was...kind of. Philadelphia closed to 11 in the third, ending up down 15 at the end of that period. They got the lead down around double digits several times in the 4th, but the Sixers just seem incapable of making several smart plays in a row on both ends of the floor. Silly fouls, reckless drives, poor passing...all of these things helped the Hornets keep this game out of reach. This should be a lesson to the team. Playing well for a full 48 minutes is an achievable goal.
• The Process: The 76’ers are dreadful. They are abysmal. I would not question Brett Brown’s commitment to this team, but I would question the passion that his professionally paid players display on the defensive end of the floor. Not every possession was awful, of course. However, the negatives far outweigh the positives for this team right now. I have been on the “tank and rebuild” train, but the organization must be getting impatient.
• Free Throw Shooting: A much different story that the depressing percentages that they had been shooting the last few games. Tonight, the Hornets were 21-22 from the foul line, showing a fantastic level of concentration for the freebies.
• Aaron Harrison made his first appearance for the Hornets this season, and played about 2.5 minutes. If he has a future with the team, it is a year or more removed, but he is getting tons of valuable practice and skill development time with the staff this season.

Going one game above .500 is great, but that means the team is only a single loss away from being a .500 team again! I am not sure how much teams learn from beating terrible teams, but hopefully they do learn that they can dominate certain inferior opponents. Love this team right now, and I hope to see them improve on the 7-6 record.

Nets at Hornets (11/18/15)

I missed the first half of this game (Mother in Law birthday dinner) but was able to enjoy the second half of the succulent contest. Some thoughts:

• Rebounding: We know that rebounding has been an issue in recent games. Somehow, the Hornets solved this trend at least momentarily. Brooklyn only managed 5 offensive rebounds, and the Hornets also won the overall rebounding battle by a margin of 49 to 37. Marvin Williams was a big time contributor with 4 offensive rebounds, and Jeremy Lin contributed 9 rebounds of his own.
• Shifting PF Position: For two games in a row, Cody Zeller has been plagued with foul trouble early in the first quarter, and Frank Kaminsky has been subbed in for long stretches. Yesterday, the Tank was not great on the offensive end, but tonight was a different story as Frank scored 11 points in 23 minutes. It seems to me that Cody has clearly regressed as an offensive player compared to last season, or at least has yet to find an offensive rhythm because of his stunted playing time. He absolutely gives more than Kaminsky in the defensive and rebounding aspects of the game, but the Hornets new offense looked good with Frank in there. I do wonder if this is the beginning of a valuable rookie season for the #9 overall pick.
• Lin: I love his physical style of play. He is excellent at using his body to score in the paint, and he is really the only Hornets player so far in this young season who is consistently scoring in the paint off the dribble. Batum has had some great cuts, but most of Lin’s scores are coming off of his own dribble penetration, either off of the S/R or simply off his own isolation creativity.
• Shooting 3’s: When the Hornets make 7 more threes than their opponent, that is usually going to be a winning formula. Excellent shooting by the home team tonight, using the extra points from distance to discover the equation for victory.

The Hornets keep figuring out a way to keep their overall record at .500, keeping the playoff hunt very much alive an 8th of the way through the season. This team continues to grow and learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and you can see Clifford experimenting with lineups and matchups as well. Allowing a team to learn and evolve while still winning some games is a pretty nice treat!

Hornets @ Knicks (11/17/15)

We return to the team from whence we came! Responding to being outrebounded in the last three games, and spurred by the small injury to PJ Hairston, the Hornets have inserted Cody Zeller into the starting lineup. They come to this game with a very large starting five, and will seek to bring the proverbial hammer down on the non-verbial Knickerbockers. The Hornets especially seek to avoid the kind of knuckle biting drama that accompanied the previous win over the Knicks last week. Here are some notes:

• Zeller energy: Really looked good in the starting lineup, bringing energy on the glass and on the floor, but he picked up 2 fouls in the first 6 minutes and was banished to the bench for the rest of the first half. Clifford left him on the bench the majority of the 2nd half as well, trying to find some kind of scoring punch (which didn’t really work tonight). That did change when Williams tried to kill Lou Amundson with an elbow and was ejected from the game.
• Kaminsky the first big off the bench, and gets a tipped ball on his first defensive possession. He ended up playing a season high 24 minutes, but did not make a discernible impact on the game.
• Sometimes my mind refuses to believe it when our 2nd unit is so consistently excellent. They seem to never be lacking in energy or aggression, and that extends leads or shrinks deficits consistently. Even Spencer Hawes was making shots! (When he wasn’t turning the ball over, or pump faking uselessly into oblivion)
• Free Throws: This is becoming a disturbing trend. The team shot 17 for 25 from the free throw line, good for 68%.
• Kristaps Porzingis: Special. Seriously. He is a fantastic rebounder, he has great hands and a developing feel for the game. He can shoot the ball from range, or finish inside. He was absolutely spectacular today, and the Garden loved him.
• Kemba and the Garden: Speaking of the Garden, Kemba Walker absolutely loves playing in NYC. He scored 31 points in a game where nobody on the Hornet’s was playing well, so it was instrumental in keeping the game close until the end.

Basically, the Hornets lost this game on both ends. They gave up a bunch of offensive rebounds and open 3’s, and they didn’t convert a high enough percentage of shots on offense. Obviously, every team will have some off nights shooting the ball, but this one simply slipped away because the Knicks hit twice as many 3’s. Another day shall come, and another chance to win. Hopefully the Hornets can continue to attempt to tighten the defense up as the season leaves it’s early stages.

Blazers @ Hornets (11/15/15)

I missed Friday’s loss against Chicago, so this battle against a less talented TrailBlazer’s team was a nice way to get back into the action. Nicolas Batum was coming off of a hot night, and the Hornets were looking forward to the return of Cody Zeller, aka The Energizer Bunny.

• 1st Half Hot Hand: Batum continued his hot shooting and playmaking, finishing the first quarter not only with 11 points, but with 5 assists as well. He is playing through the distraction of the terror attacks in his home country, and really has showed strong focus and determination early on tonight. AND HE COULD NOT MISS in the first half. He was unbelievably hot tonight. Also gotta give some love to Big Al Jefferson. He got back on track in a big way, and he LITERALLY did not miss in the first hald. 20 points for each player in the first half. Batum finished with 33, and Jefferson with 29 points
• Jeremy Lamb: Got to show off some of the athleticism tonight. Had two dunks in the 2nd quarter and continues to be unbelievable as a scorer off the bench. He finished tonight with 13 points, 3 assists and 2 blocks.
• Clifford’s Offense: Coach Clifford really needs to be commended for his creativity and ball movement in the offense this year. This team is assisting the ball at a high rate, finding quality shots at a high rate, and just generally looking a lot different than the Hornets/Bobcats of years past. Tonight, they assisted on 29 of 41 field goals, even with a very cold 4th quarter. Clifford received a lot of criticism for those boring offenses, and he deserves just as much praise in the early stages of this season.
• Beating Terrible Teams: I wrote the title to this paragraph in the third quarter, but it can still serve after a poor 4th quarter showing by the Hornets. One of the calling cards of excellent teams is a hunger to win. Teams that are talented and have a strong desire to win all 82 games are teams that go deep in the playoffs. The Hornets do not quite seem to be at that point. They are scoring the ball better, but their defense has not been up to par yet, and they need to show the ability to put bad teams away and keep them away.

The Hornets sting their way back to a .500 record! This will obviously keep them in contention for the lower few playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, and we keep seeing glimpses of a growing and maturing team. Good stuff to watch tonight.

Knicks @ Hornets (11/11/15)

Time Warner Cable Arena was hoppin’ on Veterans’ Day as the Knicks came into town. The crowd was into the game, it was exciting late, and that is all you can really ask for! Also, there was dunking and trampolines, which trumps almost all other halftime entertainment. I thought these things:

• Batum: really lived up to expectations on the offensive end tonight. It is unrealistic to expect a guy with career 11 ppg average to suddenly be a 20+ ppg scorer consistently, but tonight he was really cooking as the focal point of the offense, and he finished with a very important 24.
• The BENCH!!!: How happy are we about these offseason acquisitions? It is unreal! Lin and Lamb are scoring seemingly at will right now, and Hawes, even though he is consistently failing the eye test, has some excellent +/- numbers right now. Those three are really keeping the ball moving and consistently heading through the cylinder. The bench crew played huge minutes in the 3rd and 4th quarters, helping the Hornets fight back from a double digit deficit to a tie game midway through the final period. Lin in particular was spectacular in the 4th quarter. Clifford left Kemba, Al, and PJ (All of whom struggled greatly) on the bench for the entire 4th quarter, letting the hot bench keep the game competitive. I like the idea of tracking Zeller+Lin+Lamb scoring. Last night they had 51, tonight they combined for 43 points.
• Rookie Report: Kaminsky saw some extended playing today, which means he was on the floor for 10 minutes. I saw some positive things! He had three steals and an assist in those short minutes, which are great things for a big man to do. I keep hoping those minutes will grow and reach the 15+ minute mark sometime this season.
• Of course, Turnovers: This really helped Charlotte to keep this game close. The Knicks turned the ball over 16 times, and the Hornets only gave away possession 5 times during regulation. That careful possession of the ball is stellar, and shows a concerted effort to be conscientious about where the ball goes.
• Free Throws: This was bad, and falls mainly on Cody Zeller’s shoulders. He missed 7 free throws, and the team missed 11 free throws together. Really left some important points out on the court, as the freebies should be going down at a higher rate. We have to hope that Zeller is not too deep in his own head right now, as his shooting in general has really dropped from his good stretch in the middle of last season. Granted, his role has changed, but he really needs that jumper to fall, even if it is from three point range. (BUUUUUT, Zeller redeemed himself with the game winner)

What a game! Such drama! Almost so depressing…...This was a huge win for the Hornets. The Knicks are much improved from last year, both in roster and in execution, and they are going to be fighting the Charlotteans for a playoff spot all year. Porzingis really deserved that win, but hey, sometimes you catch a .01 second break.

Hornets @ Timberwolves (11/10/15)

The Timberwolves are short a couple of people tonight, so the Hornets seemed like they were in a good position to pick up a win. What followed was: a sport game. I had these larger, bigger picture thoughts.

• Bench Play: Very impressive showing from Batum and the bench group for the entire game. For starters, Zeller, Lin, Lamb, Batum and assorted came back from a 12 point deficit to lead by one at the end of 1. They kept up that energy for the entire game. That bench trio ended the game with 51 combined points, and were three of the four highest scorers for the Hornets.
• 3 pt shooting and Turnovers: The Hornets actually shot quite a bit worse than the Wolves, hitting 8 threes at 30%. The Wolves hit 9 threes at 47%, but that was not the difference in the game. The bigger impact was the 22 Timberwolf turnovers. The Hornets turned the ball over too much as well, with 16 TO’s, but the Wolves turnovers came at really inopportune times. Big difference, and ultimately one of the deciding factors in the victory.
• Lack of athleticism: besides Zeller on the front line, the lack of bounciness hurts the rebounding numbers against athletic teams. I think this will be an ongoing concern. Zeller had 3 of the team's 4 offensive rebounds, and was consistently the only person on the glass on the offensive end. On the defensive end, the Hornets gave up 10 offensive rebounds, and you have to think part of that is Towns, Payne, Bjelica and Dieng just being more athletic than Jefferson and Williams.
• Big man rotation: Hawes is shooting with zero confidence right now. His plus/minus numbers were solid, but he is not able to score the ball with any confidence right now. Many other people have been suggesting this, but I am officially on the “Zeller and Kaminsky as the main backups” train. At least Kaminsky has confidence in his shot, and he is a reasonably clever passer as well. I can only assume that he hasn’t gained Clifford’s trust on the defensive end.

Nice win for the Hornets tonight. It was fantastic to see the bench carry the scoring load when the starters have an off night. Lamb began the second half with the starters, and it will be interesting to see if that is a permanent move. PJ Hairston did not play at all in the second half, and only 8 minutes total. Jeremy Lin said before the game that this was a time for the team to make a statement, and they seem to have done that. They will move forward with another win under their belts, and the San Antonio loss one further day in the past.