During the month of March in North Carolina, sports fans to tend get distracted as the ACC Tournament and March Madness come to the forefront; I mean, can you blame us, though? The NCAA Tournament is one of the most entertaining events on the sports calendar. Loved ones, jobs, personal hygiene, whatever…all of this gets pushed to the back burner so we can figure out this year’s 5-12 upset (honestly, anyone but Yale, please god).

However, what can’t be accepted is for those folks to miss out on some amazing basketball that’s happening in the professional ranks, too, involving the Charlotte Hornets. Tonight, in Buzz City, Steve Clifford’s squad will go for their EIGHTH STRAIGHT VICTORY when they face off against the Dallas Mavericks. If you’ve been drowning in a sea of brackets, allow Stat Boi to quickly catch you up on this team’s recent play.

All season, in this space, I’ve written about this team’s improved offensive play, their depth, and the maturation of guys like Kemba Walker, Jeremy Lin, Marvin Williams, etc. But now, thanks in part to a softening of the schedule, Charlotte is really clicking on all cylinders.

Continue reading Charlotte Hornets Go For Eight In a Row Tonight →

Wednesday night the Cleveland Cavaliers — under new head coach Tyronn Lue — entered Charlotte for a midseason meeting with the Hornets riding  a five-game win streak, including back-to-back victories over San Antonio and Indiana. Since the dismissal of David Blatt, there’s been a positive buzz surrounding the team; words of a players-only meeting and turning the proverbial corner have followed last season’s Eastern Conference champs. The Hornets would be without their star guard Kemba Walker, too, who missed his first game of the season due to knee troubles. The Cavs seemed poised to steamroll the Hornets in Buzz City. That, however, was simply not the case.

Continue reading With SC8 In The House, Linsanity Too Much for LeBron, Cavs →

For years zone defense wasn’t allowed in the NBA; however, a rule change in 2001 made it permissible for teams to invoke their inner-Boeheim and zone-up. I’m a fan of said shift which, coupled with the hand check rule of 2004, has opened the lane up, and created an entertaining slash-and-kick style of play. Obviously iso-ball is still a huge component of pro hoops in America, but overall the change has been a beneficial one for the league. By this stance, a zone can be good. The same, however, can’t be said for the territory the Charlotte Hornets find themselves trending towards, currently. It’s a zone of danger, Lana.

The Hornets have a Southeast Division matchup tonight in Orlando against the Magic; you should stay off the roads and watch the game. I hope the Hornets win — they kind of need it. Charlotte is 2.5 game back of the No. 8 spot in the surprisingly frisky Eastern Conference (13 of of the East’s 15 teams have won at least 19 games). And make no mistake, this team entered the season in Win Now Mode — and the playoffs are certainly in striking distance. However, this recent losing slide (they’ve won just five of their last 20 game — yikes!) is deeply problematic if you want the right to get swept by Cleveland in the first round. Right now, that’s the ceiling, which is far from optimal.

Continue reading The Hornets Going Forward…Into the #DangerZone →

On December 11th, the Charlotte Hornets went into Memphis — The Grindhouse — and defeated the Grizzlies by 24 points; the victory made them 14-8 and, temporarily, second place in the Eastern Conference. Life was good: the Hornets were top-10 in offense, defense, and three-point shooting; they were also playing a faster-than-ever pace under Steve Clifford, and despite injuries to key guys, they were winning. Sweet, wonderful, beautiful winning. Could this team actually snag one of the top-four seeds, and host a first round playoff series? Well, probably not, but it was fun to entertain these hypotheticals, especially as the team was playing a fun style of ball led by two borderline all-stars: Kemba Walker and Nic Batum.

Fast forward five weeks, however, and we’re now living in a completely different reality. Al Jefferson has played just 478 minutes this year; Jeremy Lin and Jeremy Lamb have both cooled after hot starts; Batum has missed just five games this season, but it’s felt like way more — probably because Charlotte is just 1-4 in those contests. The team now sits at 19-23 — good for 12th place in the East.

It was entertaining as hell to see Kemba — who’s having a spectacular season — go for a franchise-record 52 points in a win over Utah on Monday, but that joy was short-lived — a trip to play the Thunder in OKC can do that, which is just what the schedule dumped on the Hornets Wednesday night.

Continue reading Hornets No Match For Westbrook, Durant →

Things are going, eh, not so great for Buzz City at the moment. After back-to-back wins against the Grizzlies and Lakers, the Hornets have backslid: losing five straight games by an average margin of nearly 11 points. Injuries have zapped the team of it’s offensive firepower — specifically the playmaking and shooting of the versatile Nic Batum, who was playing at an All-Star level — and on defense they’ve regressed, too.

Charlotte, who was in the top third of the league for much of the season in defensive efficiency, still has a positive net point differential (1.8 points per 100 possessions), but has dropped back towards the middle of the pack on the defensive end; they’re currently No. 14 — giving up 101.6 points per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com.

On Wednesday night, it looked as though the schedule was giving them exactly what the doc ordered: a matchup with the dumpster fire that is the Phoenix Suns. No dice, however — the Suns won 111-102, thanks in part to 17 points from T.J. Warren. Things won’t get any easier either when they cruise into Lob City on Saturday for a showdown with the red hot Los Angeles Clippers, and their alley-oop assembly line of Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan.

Continue reading Hornets Fans, Know Your Foe: Lob City on Saturday →