BUZZ WEEKLY: RIGHTING THE SHIP

Written by David W. Walters

Photo credit (NBAE/Getty Images)

 

LAST WEEKS ACTION…

The Charlotte Hornets (8-19) overcame what has been a tough two-week stretch to take advantage of a favorable weekend slate against the Philadelphia 76ers and the Utah Jazz.

 

The Hornets had a rough start to the week, traveling to Cleveland and falling behind 21-0 in the opening period.  Charlotte battled back enough to make the game respectable, eventually falling to the Cavs, 88-97, behind big performances by LeBron James (27 points, 14 assists) and Kevin Love (22 points, 19 rebounds).

 

Two nights later, the Hornets returned to the Hive to face off against the Phoenix Suns, who were currently mired in a slump of their own.  Despite a great game from Al Jefferson (28 points, 10 rebounds), the Suns handed Charlotte their fourth loss in a row, 106-111.

Photo credit (NBAE/Getty Images)

 

Then, the Hornets faced two opponents that may have been just what the doctor ordered for a team struggling to find its identity.  The Sixers came to town and the Hornets jumped all over them, putting on what may have been their most complete performance of the season so far in a 109-91 victory in Philly.  Kemba Walker exploded for 30 points and Big Al put together another strong performance with 20 points and 12 rebounds.  Granted, the Sixers are playing some of the worst, most aimless basketball I’ve ever seen, but a win is a win, and it was nice to watch the Hornets string together four consistently productive quarters in a row for a change.

 

Next up was a scrappy Utah Jazz team that plays much better than their record would suggest.  Once again, the Hornets were able to put together another strong performance from start to finish in a 104-86 victory over the Jazz.  Walker had another strong performance, scoring 20 points to go with six assists and four steals, but more importantly, he committed zero turnovers as he was able to run the offense with a steady hand.  Jefferson chipped in 19 points and 10 rebounds, but left with a groin injury midway through the fourth quarter.  When asked about the injury after the game, Jefferson said “It feels good, if they needed me, I could’ve come back in there.”

WHAT TO MAKE OF THE PAST WEEK…

So what can we take out of last week’s action?  We’ll get the elephant in the room out of the way first.  There had been rumblings that the Hornets were shopping newly signed free agent Lance Stephenson because he hasn’t quite fit in on the team as expected.  Then word comes out that the Hornets are content with “keeping him for now” because they didn’t receive any viable offers from other teams (word has it that Indiana and Miami were two of the teams interested).

 

Then Stephenson aggravates a groin injury that had plagued him at the beginning of the season, and Coach Clifford tells us that Lance will be out until after Christmas.  And now the Hornets go 2-0 without him in the lineup with veteran guard Gerald Henderson starting in his place.  Now as I said earlier, its not like we just beat two incredibly strong teams over the weekend, but the Hornets, minus the ball-stopping and negative body language, put together two of their most solid performances of the year without him in the lineup.

 

So what does that mean?  Is this a better, more cohesive team without Stephenson in the lineup?  That could be the case, but its not like the mercurial guard has done anything to inflate his trade value this season.  He has rebounded well, at times has found the open man for an assist and he’s even banked in a game winner for Charlotte, but his attitude may not mesh well with a young team looking for an identity.  What the Hornets do with him moving forward is anyone’s guess; it will be interesting to see how the team fares this week as he continues to be sidelined.

 

Now lets talk about Henderson for a minute.  While Hendo is no world beater, he is a hard working co-captain of the team that has taken on whatever role his team has asked of him.  He plays within the teams defensive system and has averaged 14 points, two rebounds and four assists per game over the weekend.  While his consistency has been maddening at times over his career, he has grown as a player and provides a veteran presence for the Hornets when they’ve needed it.

 

If the Hornets do hang on to Stephenson, would he be better coming off the bench as a spark plug for the second unit since Hendo seems to fit in well with the starters?  Only time and Clifford’s rotations will tell.

Photo credit (NBAE/Getty Images)

 

The return of MKG to the lineup has certainly been a welcomed addition, and clearly the Hornets have missed his defensive intensity.  While he is still working his way back from a foot injury that sidelined him for 12 games, he has provided much needed energy for as team that was severely lacking in that department during his absence, and the team will certainly play much better with MKG available.

 

MOVING FORWARD…

The Hornets have four games coming up over Christmas week, with only one of them coming against a very formidable opponent, OKC.

 

On Monday, the Hornets face off against the Denver Nuggets at the Hive.  While the Nuggs haven’t been great this season, they still roll out a lineup that includes “Manimal” Kenneth Faired and guards Aaron Afflalo and Ty Lawson.  Denver is fourth in the NBA in rebounding and can still score at a respectable rate, but their defense is suspect, ranking in the bottom of the league in points allowed.

Photo credit (NBAE/Getty Images)

 

Next up, the Hornets will travel to Milwaukee for a rematch with the Bucks, who lost the season opener to Charlotte in overtime.  Milwaukee has played well as of late despite not being particularly good at anything besides moving the ball well.  They currently sit at .500 but also lost rookie phenom Jabari Parker for the year with a torn ACL.  This team plays well without the benefit of having any superstars, getting contributions from players such as Brandon Knight, Kris Middleton and Larry Sanders.

 

The Hornets then will face an Oklahoma City team that’s coming off a full slate of games during the Christmas week.  Charlotte has always had their hands full with OKC and this matchup will undoubtedly be no different.  Early season injuries had the Thunder stumbling out of the starting blocks but OKC has been on a roll since getting their stars Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant back in the lineup, although the latter has recently suffered a mild ankle sprain and whether or not he suits up against the Hornets remains to be seen, as they will be coming off a Christmas Day matchup against the Spurs.  The Thunder are a top five rebounding team and they currently sit atop the league in points allowed per game; this will no doubt make for a very tough matchup.

 

On Saturday, Tobias Harris and a young Orlando Magic squad comes to town to face off against the Hornets.  Orlando sits near the bottom of the league in nearly every offensive category but they do manage to play a middle of the pack style of defense.  The Hornets lost the first meeting between these two teams, 100-105, due to a huge game from Harris, but the team was without defensive stopper MKG, who will be available to help stymie Harris this time around.

 

Three of these matchups are very winnable games for the Hornets and, hopefully, they will be able to take this weekends wins and capitalize on their momentum to come out of the week looking better than when they went in.  Heck, who knows, maybe we even get a belated Christmas present with a win over OKC.

 

Hopefully all you Hornets fans have a great Christmas holiday, don’t ever forget the reason for the season and enjoy the company of those around you.  That’s all for now Hornets fans, until next time, HAPPY HOLIDAYS and KEEP BUZZING!

you can follow David W. Walters @Original_DWade.

 

The Charlotte Hornets appear to be a mess, there may be multiple factors but what do you believe is the main source of their problems?

HORNETS HOLD OFF CELTICS AT HOME

Written by David W. Walters

Photo credit (NBAE/Getty Images)

The Charlotte Hornets (6-15) were able to finish off the visiting Boston Celtics (7-13) for a 96-87 victory on Wednesday night at the Hive.  The win was the second in a row for the Hornets, who are coming off a four night layoff following their win last Friday night.

The first half wasn’t pretty, as both teams shot poorly in what amounted to a 40-45 halftime deficit for the Hornets.  Charlotte woke up in the second half though, going on an 11-4 run to open the third quarter, with a Gerald Henderson three putting the Hornets up for good about halfway through the period.

The Celtics made a strong run during the closing minutes, but big plays by Kemba Walker and some nice post moves by Al Jefferson held off the late charge for the victory.

The Celtics just didn’t have an answer for Big Al down low and Jefferson had a fantastic game, putting on a low post clinic to the tune of 23 points and 14 rebounds.  “This is two games in a row that we’ve been able to close it out,” said Jefferson following the game, “I was thinking too much in the first half. I just had to be myself and relax, and that’s what I did in the second half.”

Walker had a good all-around game with 18 points, five rebounds, seven assists and three steals and Lance Stephenson had another good showing with 13 points and a shimmy after getting fouled while making a basket in the second half.

The Hornets finally got Michael Kidd-Gilchrist back on the court after a 12 game absence as he was recovering from a foot injury.  The forward was aggressive in his return to action, finishing with nine points and six rebounds.

Marvin Williams had a strong showing off the bench with eight points and five boards as it becomes more evident that his impact as a reserve gives the Hornets a needed spark off the bench.

Rajon Rondo had a triple-double for Boston with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and Jeff Green and Marcus Thornton led the Celtics in scoring with 16 points a piece.

Photo credit (NBAE/Getty Images)

An intriguing matchup in the game came down to the Zeller brothers, Cody and Tyler, both of whom have recently been inserted into their teams respective starting lineups.  Cody finished the game with nine points and two rebounds while Tyler finished with 13 points and eight boards.

Hornets coach Steve Clifford didn’t let up during the Hornets four day layover and ran his players hard in practice during the break.

“I think you could tell when you walked into the locker room that guys are happy. I think they know that the way they played tonight was a byproduct of how they’ve practiced,” said Clifford after the game.

“You know, after 20 games, there’s a lot of groups that don’t want to practice three times. They just want to play the games. But our guys were good. They had good practices, and hopefully that’ll set a tone for this next stretch of games.”

Rookie P.J. Hairston didn’t dress out for the game after taking what Clifford said was “an unexcused absence” from Tuesday’s practice.

Next up, the Hornets hit the road to face Marc Gasol and a tough Memphis Grizzlies team on Friday night.

 

 

you can follow David W. Walters @Original_DWade.

HORNETS WIN!!!

 

Photo credit (NBAE/Getty Images)

The Charlotte Hornets (5-15) used a gut wrenching dramatic finish to punctuate a 103-102 victory against the New York Knicks (4-17) Friday night to snap a 10-game losing streak.

The Hornets played a very strong first half en route to a 57-45 halftime lead.  Al Jefferson began abusing Amar’e Stoudemire in the post and Gerald Henderson began to heat up for the Hornets in the third quarter to push Charlotte’s lead to as much as 21 points before Carmelo and the Knicks went on a crazy run in the fourth quarter while the Hornets struggled to make anything happen on the offensive end of the court.  It was eerily reminiscent of the recent string of second half collapses, and I don’t know about you, but my heart sank in my throat as it began to look like an all to familiar scene.

The Knicks’ comeback was punctuated by a three pointer from the corner by Anthony, quieting the home crowd and giving New York a one point lead with 40 seconds left on the clock.  That set the stage for Kemba Walker, who had already shown a penchant for hitting big shots earlier this year in the Hornets opener.  With four seconds left on the clock, Walker took the inbounds pass at half court, faked right, and drove past the Knicks’ Pablo Prigioni into the left side of the lane.  Amar’e Stoudemire chased after Walker, but the Hornets crafty point guard went in for a left handed, buzzer beating layup to give Charlotte the victory.

Kemba Walker hits the game winning layup against the Knicks.  Photo credit (NBAE/Getty Images)

While the Hornets once again gave up a large lead down the stretch, almost giving away another victory, they were able to pull this one out in the end.  Walker’s face after the game winner said it all as he sported a look of relief as the Hornets got the monkey off their back after a tough stretch over the past month.

Walker finished the game with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists as he noticeably struggled with a lingering injury throughout the game.  He also had a huge third quarter block on the Knicks’ Jose Calseron, coming out of nowhere to swat the shot, much to the delight of the crowd.

Photo credit (NBAE/Getty Images)

Henderson led the Hornets in scoring with a season high 22 points on an efficient 8-10 shooting from the field.  Jefferson had a strong showing contributing a double double with 16 points and 13 rebounds and Lance Stephenson had 16 points of his own to go with six rebounds and six assists.  Gary Neal had 13 points off the bench, giving the Hornets some much needed scoring from their reserves.

Anthony led the Knicks with 32 points, seven rebounds and four assists and, at times, it seemed he was the lone hand carrying a struggling Knicks team.  Tim Hardaway Jr. and J.R. Smith chipped in 13 and 14 points respectively off the bench for New York.

The Hornets will have the next four nights off before they are back at the Hive against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.

 

 

you can follow David W. Walters @Original_DWade.

Want to win LOWER LEVEL tickets to a Charlotte Hornets game?

Bring a NEW toy to the Sport Clips behind the Red Robin on Johnston Rd/Toringdon Way for a chance to win lower level tickets to the January 14th game against the defending Champs San Antonio Spurs

Donations end on the 23rd of this month.

Also, make sure you tell them Bring Back the Buzz sent you and your haircut will only be $10!

The Charlotte Hornets took a big step forward a year ago, as they played gritty defense and put Al Jefferson to work down low en route to a return trip to the playoffs.

Things haven’t gone quite as planned so far in the 2014-15 season, but once at full strength, this Charlotte gang looks to be balanced enough to make it back to the playoffs for the second year in a row.

So far, the absence of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist due to injury has caused their perimeter defense to suffer, while their offense has been among the slowest in the league. In order to turn things around, they’ll have to work on shot selection and overall offensive efficiency, while also staying aggressive on the defensive end.

To see how they’ll begin to do that, let’s break down their cheapest and most expensive games on the Hornets schedule for the month of December:
Cheapest – @ Memphis Grizzlies (12/12/14) | Avg: $56.46 | Get-in: $5

Memphis hosts the Hornets in mid-December for what should be an intense defensive battle. Charlotte has been the poor man’s version of the Grizz, as they try to suffocate opponents with their defense and rely on slow, methodical pace on offense.

Charlotte will need MKG back to really compete in this one, as Memphis has quickly morphed into the best team in the league and is borderline unbeatable on their home floor. It’s a challenge for the Hornets offensively, too, as Memphis plays elite defense and the Hornets just haven’t been clicking on offense yet. Look for Al Jefferson to be leaned on heavily down low as the Hornets try to keep the pace slow in a likely gritty affair.
Most Expensive – @ Cleveland Cavaliers (12/15/14) | Avg: $195.98 | Get-in: $30

The Cleveland Cavaliers usually raise the price of any team’s tickets, but Hornets tickets can still be found at a nice price here, with the average barely climbing up over $195. That’s surprising considering how much star power the Cavs carry, while Cavaliers tickets from Scorebig in general usually hover around $322.

While the price is slightly more than Hornets fans are used to, this game figures to return terrific value thanks to the presence of LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. The star power is probably enough reason to take this one in live, but the fact that the Hornets could win is a pretty good reason, too.

Cleveland is still trying to figure itself out, so anytime you can face them early in that process, it should give you a good chance of squeaking out a win. Charlotte will still have to execute on offense, however, as the Cavs don’t play great defense but still boast one of the more prolific offenses in the league.
offenses in the league.

HORNETS WEEKLY: WEST COAST TRIP EDITION

Written by David W. Walters

LAST WEEKS ACTION…

The Charlotte Hornets (4-6) week long road trip was definitely a bumpy one, as they went 1-3 on a four game west coast slate last week.  The trip could have easily ended up 2-2 or 3-1, but some horrible second half play caused the Hornets to let two 20+ point leads slip away.

Photo credit (NBAE/Getty Images)

The Hornets started their west coast trip last Sunday night when they visited a winless Laker team at the Staples Center.  The Hornets started out strong, building a sizeable lead while the Lakers laid enough bricks the build another Staples Center.  Los Angeles battled back in the second quarter but some key plays down the first half stretch helped the Hornets go into the locker room with a 51-42 lead.

Both teams reversed roles in the second half, as the Hornets came out and played lackadaisical basketball, looking lost as the Lakers put together their best half of the season and blew the doors off a reeling Charlotte team.  Los Angeles’ hot shooting was too much for Charlotte to keep up with and the Hornets once again lost a game by failing to close.  Hornets lose, 92-107.

Photo credit (NBAE/Getty Images)

Two nights later, the nightmare scenario repeated itself in Portland.  The Hornets jumped out to a lead behind the strong play of its backcourt; Lance Stephenson started off hot and scored nine points in the first quarter, Kemba Walker had seven points and P.J. Hairston had six points in the period.  Charlotte was up, 35-21, at the end of the first quarter; the Hornets shot 64% from the field and went 3-3 from long range.

The Hornets stayed hot going into the second quarter as the reserves quickly pushed the lead to 19.  Portland made a run at the end of the quarter to chip away at the lead, but the Hornets still took a 64-51 lead into the locker room after playing what was easily their best half of the season.

The Blazers came out of the locker room and played stifling defense against the Hornets, who looked lost on offense after turning in their strongest offensive performance of the year in the first half.  Portland made runs and came up with plays when they needed them most, a stark contrast to the Hornets, who lost another game within their grasp, 100-102.

Photo credit (NBAE/Getty Images)

Next up was a Friday night matchup against a tough Phoenix Suns team that played an up-tempo pace that was sure to challenge the Hornets defense.  Charlotte started the game off slow, but they picked up the pace in the second quarter, playing better defense and scoring 33 points en route to a 47-47 halftime score.

The Hornets carried their strong play into the second half, keeping pace with Phoenix in the third quarter behind strong play from Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo, who was saw his first action of the season.  Biyombo played very well against the Suns, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Walker finished with 19 points, with 12 of them coming in the second half.  The Hornets got their first road victory of the years, beating the Suns, 103-95.

“I thought our defense was pretty good throughout the whole game, even the first quarter,” Jefferson said. “When you play against a team like Phoenix or Portland, you know they’re going to go on an 8-0 or 10-0 run at any given time. We had to keep them moving because they have a lot of energy.

Photo credit (NBAE/Getty Images)

The last stop on the Hornets’ west coast trip was a visit to Oakland to face off against a red-hot Warriors team.  Charlotte tried to keep up the pace in this one, but it was a futile effort, particularly in the second quarter when Golden State blew the doors off the Hornets, knocking down six three-pointers to put them up by 21 points at the end of the first half.

The Warriors cooled off just a bit in the second half but were still too much for the Hornets to contain.  Not much went right for Charlotte in this matchup, the only side note being that rookie Noah Vonleh made his debut, taking and missing his only shot in six minutes of action.

WHAT TO MAKE OF THE ROAD TRIP…

Not many positives come out of this road trip; as I said in my season preview it will take some time for this team to gel together as a third of the roster is new and injuries limited the Hornets ability to build cohesion during the preseason.  We’ve seen glimpses of inspired play from Charlotte so far this season, but we’ve also seen the team look completely lost on both sides of the ball in a sort of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde way that frustrates everyone involved.

While Lance Stephenson has struggled to establish himself as a scorer for the Hornets, he does lead the team in rebounds and he has contributed defensively.  He started off so hot in the Portland game, but then disappeared in the second half as the Hornets struggled to score.  Stephenson was vocal this past week about his desire to be more involved down the stretch, and hopefully he will be as this week moves along.

We saw the first game action from Bismack Biyombo, and it was pretty impressive.  Biyombo had languished on the Hornets bench all season, but was ready when his number was called.  This is a contract year for Biz, and it looks like he intends to make the most of his opportunities this season; an encouraging sign for Charlotte, as they have been leaning heavily on undersized Jason Maxiell as their backup center this year.

Cody Zeller has really improved his game this year, showing off the athleticism that made him Charlotte’s top pick last year.  He has been a big contributor to the Hornets’ success with his energy off the bench.  He has been more active on the boards this season and it finally seems that he has figured out a way to stay out of constant foul trouble, a problem that plagued him during his rookie campaign.

Rookie P.J. Hairston worked his way into the rotation with his defense and ability to stretch the floor with his shooting, he even earned his first start in the Warriors game.  While his scoring has cooled off a bit, it seems that Clifford is comfortable with Hairston on the floor.

We got our first look at our other rookie, Noah Vonleh, albeit an unimpressive one.  Vonleh has seen the court twice this year for the Hornets as he recovers from a sports hernia, once in the preseason and his regular season debut against the Warriors.  While we still don’t really have an idea of how he measures up against the competition, it is encouraging to see him working his way into the rotation, hopefully we’ll see more in the coming week.

With a logjam at the wing position, veteran guard Gerald Henderson has found himself as the odd man out.  He is averaging 3.3 points per game this season and only managed five points in a season high 28 minutes against Golden State.  It remains to be seen what Hendo’s future with the team will look like and, in his defense, he is coming off an injured hamstring, but the early returns haven’t been promising and other players have stepped up into the role originally meant for him.

 

MOVING FORWARD…

The Hornets look to get back on track this week and their upcoming schedule looks a lot easier than last weeks brutal list of opponents.  It all starts tonight, as the Hornets return to the Hive to face off against Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks.  Dallas has been great offensively this season, topping the league in scoring with 109.5 points per game, with Nowitzki leading the way at 20.3 points per outing.

On Wednesday, the Hornets travel to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to face Roy Hibbert and the Indiana Pacers.  Conversely, the Pacers have been horrendous on offense, ranked 27^th in the league in scoring, but their rebounding and defense remain their calling card, as they are second in rebounding and fourth in scoring defense.  Expect this one to be a low scoring, grind-it-out affair.

The Hornets return to the Hive on Friday night for a southeast divisional game against the Orlando Magic.  The Magic are young, but they feature a very athletic team, with Tobias Harris, Victor Oladipo and Evan Fournier.  While those names may not ring a bell, they are all talented players capable of giving the Hornets defense fits.

The Hornets finish up on Sunday when they face the Miami Heat for the second time this season; they won the first matchup at the Hive, 96-89.  The Heat started the season off strong but have lost a few games as of late.  Chris Bosh has had a good start to the season, but has slumped lately, and Dwyane Wade has missed his last two games and is considered day-to-day this week.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has missed the last two games with a stress reaction in his right foot, he will be re-evaluated later this week; Hairston will get his second start of the season in his place.  Gary Neal sustained a concussion in the game against the Warriors and will be out until he passes concussion protocol.  Walker is listed as probable with back soreness and Marvin Williams is battling tendinitis in his left knee.

The Hornets have an excellent opportunity to rebound from last weeks rough stretch and hopefully they can emerge somewhat healthy with a record above .500 after Sunday.

That’s all for now Hornets fans, until next time, KEEP BUZZING!

 

you can follow David W. Walters @Original_DWade.