Charlotte Hornets

LAST 4 GAMES

- @ Boston Celtics: L, 111-120

- vs. Detroit Pistons: W, 107-94

- vs. Miami Heat: L, 111-121

- @ Detroit Pistons: W, 102-99

Same old, same old for the Hornets again this week. They lose meaningful games and the ones that should be given wins, they win. They split last week’s games and I was really expecting more with a couple key returns from the injury report. LaMelo Ball and Malik Monk returned to action last week and it couldn’t come at a more needful time. While last week’s results weren’t exactly what we wanted to see, at least we’re get closer to that fully healthy team heading into the postseason. Despite that being the goal, Graham has been missing some action and Miles Bridges looks to be in Covid protocol for the foreseeable future. I expect them to be ready to go by the time the playoffs roll around, but I’m not sure about Hayward.

The Hornets were the worst performing team of the matchups last week in 3 of the 4 games. They somehow walked away from Detroit with a win last night despite only shooting 40.9% from the field and the majority of the week wasn’t good. I felt like they could’ve beaten the Heat if they played 60 minutes instead of 48, they were on a roll towards the end of the game. And they were just outplayed against Boston.

The Hornets only have 7 more games this season and each game will be crucial. They are practically a lock for the play-in tournament and it appears that is where they are headed, but I think they can avoid that dreaded tournament. They’re only 2.5 games out from the 6 seeded Heat and if they play good basketball from here on out, they can avoid the play-in tourney. Of the next 7 games, they will play only 3 teams with winning records, so they should at least be even at the end of the season. Hopefully they will be a winning team and within the top 6 seeds in the East after those 7 games. They will play the next 5 at home and the final 2 on the road.

Week 19 MVP: Miles Bridges

It looks like Bridges is going to miss a little action coming up, but in the 3 games he played last week, he was great. He averaged a little over 20 PPG in those 3 games and shot an even 50% from the field. Having Bridges out of the lineup is going to sting quite a bit, but hopefully he can get cleared to play soon.

NEXT 4 GAMES

- vs. Chicago Bulls (26-39): Thursday, May 6th at 7pm

- vs. Orlando Magic (21-45): Friday, May 7th at 8pm

- vs. New Orleans Pelicans (30-36): Sunday, May 9th at 7pm

- vs. Denver Nuggets (44-22): Tuesday, May 11th at 7pm

The Hornets meet up with the Bulls for the final time this season and the Bulls have had their number both times this year. Hopefully the Hornets can avoid the season sweep here. In their last matchup a couple weeks ago, the Hornets played horribly. This time, they have Malik Monk and LaMelo Ball in the lineup and that could affect the outcome. The Bulls are on the outside looking into the play-in tournament, but with a limited amount of games left, it is unlikely that they make it to the postseason.

Next on the ledger is the Magic. The Magic have officially been eliminated and it has just been a disappointing year for the team. They had a lot of promise, especially since they have had former Hornets HC, Steve Clifford. They made the playoffs in the last two years, but that won’t be the case this season. The season series is split between the two teams, but with the Magic already eliminated, it is time for the Hornets to hit the accelerator. The last time the Magic and Hornets have played, it was over 3 months ago, and they were back-to-back games. We’ll see what happens, but this definitely shouldn’t be a game that the Hornets lose.

The Hornets get one final nationally televised game before the playoffs and the Pelicans are still in the hunt to get the final spot in the play-in tourney. Unless the Pels win their remaining 6 games, they will finish below .500 on the season and it is kind of surprising to see them play so poorly. They have a good team, but they’re seemingly not playing well together. Zion Williamson is already a star and Lonzo Ball is having the best season of his career, but something is missing from this team. The Hornets won the matchup early in the season and will look to sweep the season series. Gordon Hayward was the leading scorer in that game. The Pelicans will still be in contention for their play-in spot, so expect them to compete, but I think this is definitely a game that the Hornets can win.

The game against the Nuggets will definitely be the toughest of the week and the two games following will be the toughest stretch for the rest of the season. Nearly two months ago, the two teams met, and the Nuggets won by 25. The Hornets had a fully healthy roster and they didn’t play horribly and that is a testament to how good the Nuggets are. The Nuggets have only gotten better since then, and I wouldn’t be a bit shocked to see them be the representative of the West in the Finals. This will be a tough matchup for Charlotte and the Nuggets aren’t going to hit the brakes despite clinching a playoff berth.

Yacs

Charlotte Hornets Report: Week 20 of 2020-21