Tag Archives: Charlotte Hornets

Three Takeaways: Celtics 115, Hornets 112

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The Celtics came out with a win in their 2nd preseason game.

The team returned to the TD Garden to take on the Charlotte Hornets. Boston was without Al Horford for the game, who was dealing with a wrist injury. The team, having faced the Hornets on Friday, jumped out to a 64-57 halftime lead. After a mediocre first quarter, the Celtics went for 40 points in the second. The game stayed competitive through the third quarter, with the Celtics unable to pull away. The Hornets took the lead with around 6 and a half minutes remaining the game, and the score remained neck and neck until the very end, when Boston was able to pull away. Here are some key takeaways from Sunday’s game.

1. Boston turns it around from deep, succeeds on free throws

After a poor first game in terms of three-point shooting, the Celtics were able to flip the script. On Friday, the team shot an atrocious 9-47 from deep, for just 19%. Sunday night, however, was a much different story. The team finished with far fewer attempts from deep, going 13-31 on the night. The much higher percentage (42%) was a welcome sight. Also notable was the success from behind the free throw line. Boston converted 18 of 21 attempts from the stripe, a great sign for the regular season.

2. Tatum, Irving shine

Both Jayson Tatum and Kyrie Irving stood out in Sunday’s game. After a scoreless first quarter, Tatum caught fire in the second quarter, scoring 13 points in three minutes. That spurt included 3 three-pointers and a ferocious alley-oop jam from Terry Rozier. He finished with 16 points and 4 boards in 19 minutes of play.

Irving also had a standout game against Charlotte. He contributed his usual scoring total and made multiple eye-catching passes to set up scores for others. He’ll benefit this year from not always having to be the team’s number one scoring option. It’ll leave him more room to make plays and facilitate the offense. Irving finished with 20/4/3 in 29 minutes.

3. Williams shows flashes of potential

The rookie Robert Williams showed a lot of intriguing play in the game on Sunday. Williams had a nice dunk inside and was extremely active on both ends of the floor. Most notably, he set a lot of good screens on offense and freed up a lot of space on that end. Williams also had a clutch block in the closing seconds of the game to secure the win. He finished with 5 points, a board and an assist, as well as the aforementioned block. Though the numbers aren’t the most gaudy, it was certainly a nice performance that could help redeem him in the eyes of some fans.

Bonus: Marcus Smart is back

Good to see ya, buddy.

Boston will take the floor next on Tuesday night, when the Lebron-less Cavaliers come to the Garden. Horford is hopeful to return to action that night against the new look Cleveland team. The NBA season keeps getting closer and closer!

Kemba Walker Deserves More Respect

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The moment Kemba Walker became the ninth overall selection out of UConn in 2011, Hornets fans had high expectations. Many draft picks from Charlotte have been producing lackluster careers, but Kemba Walker has become a special talent. Walker is one of the most underrated point guards in the NBA. It is about time that he receives more respect from fans across the league.

Walker is the Franchise

At age 27, Walker is on pace to become the all-time franchise leader in numerous categories. He came into Charlotte and from his rookie season, he has been the franchise cornerstone that this team has desperately been searching for.

The Hornets have not yet been able to stabilize a lineup for longer than a couple years. The amount of turnover Walker has been playing through has had little effect on his overall numbers. He is proving that this season as well as the team made a trade for Dwight Howard over the offseason. So far in 2017, Walker is averaging 22 points, 7 assists, and 3 rebounds a game. All without fellow star Nicolas Batum attracting other team’s defense away from him.

The chemistry that Walker has been able to develop with Howard is impressive. Charlotte has the ability to compete in the Eastern Conference this season. People were ready to give up on Howard after poor performance with the Atlanta Hawks last season. The Hornets were able to get Howard back on track. Now he and Kemba look like a new dynamic duo in the East.

How Walker Stacks up with Top Point Guards

Most people entering the 2017 season would not put Walker in their top 10. That is absolutely ridiculous and people need to stop sleeping on him. Although defensively he is not a threat, he is a dangerous scorer on the drive and from beyond the arc. It is hard to imagine him being ranked so low for defensive reasons. James Harden gets ranked somewhere in the top three and literally never get back on defense. That is a joke.

Now before you start questioning whether I know anything about basketball, do not twist my words. I am not saying he is better than the elite guards such as Steph Curry or Russell Westbrook. Those players are in a league of their own in terms of point guard play. Kemba Walker falls somewhere along the lines of Damian Lillard, Eric Bledsoe, and Kyle Lowry.

The difference between Walker and the rest of the guards named is the supporting cast. Lillard has CJ McCollum, Bledsoe now plays alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Lowry with Demar Derozan. Kemba has been having to make plays for himself for the better part of his career. Statistically, he is putting up almost the same numbers as the other guards in terms of points and assists. It is about time people start realizing all he has done for Charlotte virtually alone and give him the respect he deserves.

Is it time for a Charlotte Hornets Rebuild?

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The NBA has a garbage problem?

With the NBA season officially upon us, fans everywhere are excited to see what their teams will do in 2017. Some would argue the league has more balance this year. Others will claim that the Golden State Warriors will still smoke past the competition. Did the Charlotte Hornets improve this off season, or are they miles behind the Warriors like everybody else?

Hornets Owner Michael Jordan is one of those who agrees that the level of competition in the NBA is weak. “Twenty-eight teams are going to be garbage” is what Jordan had to say about the state of the league this season. Most will assume that his Hornets are on the “garbage” side of NBA teams currently.

With the Hornets owner even believing that his team cannot find success this season, what are the next steps?  Charlotte has consistently been a mediocre team since changing the franchise name back to the Hornets in the 2014-2015 season. Winning anywhere between 33-48 games per season qon’t provide fans with much to look forward to.

Charlotte Needs a Change

So what is the plan for the franchise moving forward? Currently, it appears Charlotte still envisions competing. The Hornets acquired Dwight Howard from the Atlanta Hawks on Draft Night 2017. The team gave up virtually nothing and hopes he returns to his Orlando Magic form. Call me crazy, but I say it is about time the Hornets enter rebuild mode for a fresh start.

Jordan’s team made the playoffs once since changing the franchise back to its original name. In the 2015-2016 playoffs, the Hornets lost in the first round by a post-Lebron James Miami Heat squad, in seven games.

With little success in recent history, the team should enter a rebuild and prepare for the 2018 off season. How they will go about this rebuild is the major question. The Hornets have been known for terrible drafts (trading away the rights to Kobe Bryant for Vlade Divac in 1996 for example), and have made few attempts to acquire top free agents.

Copy the Celtics!

Some recent questionable draft picks include Noah Vonleh (9th overall in 2014) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2nd overall in 2012). Both of these players came into the league with high expectations and little to show for it. Vonleh has since been traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. Kidd-Gilchrist remains on the roster, but has suffered consistent injuries during his time.

If the team plans to rebuild through the draft, they should emulate the Boston Celtics. Their first step —  enter full on Danny Ainge-mode and acquire as many draft picks as possible. Charlotte has players like Kemba Walker that have value for trades that could get the team high draft lottery selections. It can be hard to part ways with your top players. The Celtics did so when trading away Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett for draft picks in 2013 to the Brooklyn Nets. This move lead to a quick rebuild and now they are  one of the top teams for the 2017-2018 season.

Choosing this route will put a lot of pressure on the team’s executives. With their poor draft history, they will really need to get it together and draft the right players to make the rebuild a success.

Hornets Make Some Buzz in Free Agency

Another option would be to aim for the 2018 NBA offseason and attempt to lure in free agents. Lebron James, Paul George, Isaiah Thomas, Demarcus Cousins among others enter free agency next off-season. The Hornets could shed some cap space and attempt to make a major move.

Although the chances of acquiring King James and PG13 are slim, Demarcus Cousins might be a more realistic option. If his stint with the New Orleans Pelicans ends up a failure, he will try to join a new team in the off season. Charlotte could use a more modern option at the center position such as Cousins as an inside presence but can hit outside jump shots.

Adding Cousins alongside Kemba Walker and Dwight Howard would make for a new exciting big three in the Eastern Conference. This, along with other minor moves, would put the Hornets in a position to compete and make noise in the playoffs.

What’s the Plan?

Whichever choice the Hornets make, their worst option would be not doing anything at all. Although rebuilds can be dreadful in terms of tanking, they set teams up for future success which is better than not having any clear plan for improvement.

Today, Charlotte is a mediocre team, and if they want to sell out the Spectrum Center like they did in the 90’s, they must make a future decision that will set the team up for believable success. With the greatest of all time as your team owner, what could go wrong?