Charlotte Hornets Report: Week of November 12th
sportslogos.net
LAST 4 GAMES
- vs. Indiana Pacers: W, 122-120 (OT)
- vs. Boston Celtics: L, 87-108
- vs. New Orleans Pelicans: L, 110-115
- @ Philadelphia 76ers: 106-114
It was a tough week for Charlotte, but they didn’t come away empty handed in last week’s slate of games. They won a thriller against the Pacers in OT, but couldn’t pull together another win last week. The last two games of the week were winnable, but they just couldn’t pull it together. In last week’s Hornets Report, I mentioned that it would be a tough week, but it’s tough knowing that they were that close in a few games, but just couldn’t piece together a winning week. With that being said, Devonte’ Graham was the MVP last week and he really has been the MVP all season long for the Hornets. Graham averaged 23.3 PPG last week and has been a much-needed scoring option off the bench for the Hornets. He is also currently the club’s leading scorer. If he keeps the pace up, we could be seeing him in the 6th Man of the Year discussion at the end of the season. Moving forward, the Hornets have to take better and more efficient shots. That is how they are losing a lot of close games at the moment. The Hornets have a good slate of winnable games coming up and here is a look at those games
NEXT 3 GAMES
- vs. Memphis Grizzlies (3-7): Wednesday, November 13th at 7pm
- vs. Detroit Pistons (4-7): Friday, November 15th at 7pm
- @ New York Knicks (2-8): Saturday, November 16th at 7:30pm
Tomorrow night, the Hornets will be taking on the Memphis Grizzlies at home. It looks like the Grizzlies are going to be one of the worst team in the West again, but this time, they have Ja Morant leading the club. The Grizzlies have a very young team and it should be a game that the Hornets have in the bag. In a long NBA season with a lot of ups and downs, matchups like these are blessings in disguise for a potential playoff team. If the Hornets are going to be a playoff team, they absolutely have to win games like these. The Grizz are currently allowing the 4th most PPG. Even though the Hornets are one of the lowest scoring teams in basketball, this is an opportunity that they shouldn’t take lightly.
Next on the slate is the Pistons and this is another game that the Hornets can pick up a nice win at home. Although this will be a tougher matchup, it is still a winnable game. As far as stats go, the Pistons and Hornets are very similar team, but when you look at how the teams are constructed, they couldn’t be more different. The Pistons still have the two-headed monster of Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond, but Derrick Rose and Luke Kennard have been very valuable assets for the team this year. Griffin played in his first game of the season last night, so expect him to be in full form on Friday. This won’t be an easy game, but I think it is one that can put the Hornets in a possible playoff contending discussion.
Saturday’s game is on the road at Madison Square Garden against the Knicks. The Knicks are in a weird spot right now, because news came out today saying that they are laying the groundwork for Coach Fizdale to be fired, but he hasn’t actually been fired. This is one of the weirdest headlines I’ve ever seen. It came out saying that they are looking for a way to fire him. Weird to say the least, but I guess it could be good news for Charlotte this weekend. The Knicks have one of the oddest teams in basketball. They don’t have a clear leader of the team and most of the players are PF/SF. Even though MSG is a tough place to play regardless of how bad the Knicks are, this should be an easy win. Another thing that I think is weird, is the fact that Dennis Smith has only played 8.7 MPG in the 3 games he stepped on the court. That guy is too talented to only be seeing 9 minutes a game. Hopefully the Hornets can walk away with 3 wins this week, but they definitely should come away with at least 2.
Yacs