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.
There’s never really a “good” time to play against the Golden State Warriors — they’re a godless juggernaut sent to destroy your scheme, team and dream. However, it’s even less ideal of a matchup when you’re playing for the third time in four days, traveling cross-country, and in the middle of a three-game losing slide. This is where the Charlotte Hornets found themselves Monday night; so it goes in the NBA, I suppose.
The Hornets hung tough against the Dubs, and ended up losing by only 10 points, 111-101. But this game was never really in doubt; Golden State was on cruise control from the opening tip — getting basically every shot they wanted, and making it an arduous process for Charlotte to score a bucket, especially without the injured Nic Batum (toe).
Steph Curry did his usual insane thing — 30 points on 21 shots — and he and Klay Thompson combined to sink 11 three-pointers. Harrison Barnes — BLACK FALCON COMETH — returned to the lineup for the first time since November 27th, when an ankle injury pushed him to the bench for the entire month of December (great to see him back).
But if you watched this game — and if you frequently find yourself up too late watching the Warriors play, as I do — you know who stole the show: Draymond Green. Or, as you should refer to him as, the best power forward in the NBA.
Lin’s had a really strong season in Charlotte; the same can’t be said for his hair, though.
After departing Wednesday’s loss to the Magic early due to an illness, the Charlotte Hornets decided to give forward Nicolas Batum the night off on Thursday, too. Batum, who has played on an all-star level since arriving in North Carolina, was replaced in the starting lineup by the team’s backup point guard: Jeremy Lin.
The first-year Hornet would justify the start as he played a crucial role in Charlotte’s 109-99 win over Toronto.
Personally, I loved the move by coach Steve Clifford. While Lin can’t replicate Batum’s length and versatility, he can reproduce some of his playmaking, shooting and passing. While Al Jefferson continues to serve his suspension, the Hornets can space the floor better than ever before, and a spread pick-and-roll attack, with room to operate, and with Lin and Kemba Walker at the controls is a good thing. Yay points.
Plus, Toronto starting Terrence Ross at the small forward spot gave Clifford the perfect place to stash Lin defensively. Ross had an obvious size advantage over Lin, but it didn’t matter; the Toronto swingman is a streaky shooter from outside (he did go 5-10 from deep on Thursday — you’ll live with that), but that’s about it. Charlotte never had to worry about Ross dragging Lin down to the block, or smoking him on a dribble-drive. Lin’s been solid on defense during his initial campaign in Clifford’s system, but he’ll never be confused for Tony Allen on that end of the floor, so a matchup with Ross was perfect to start things out.
The dual point guard lineup has been quite successful for Charlotte so far this season; Walker and Lin have shared the floor together for 298 minutes during the first six weeks of the season. According to NBA.com: in that span of time, the Hornets have outscored their opponents by nearly seven points per 100 possessions.
Lin is currently playing less than 25 minutes per game, and if he’d been hoping and wishing for more playing time, well, he got it last night. In a game that saw the Hornets surrender a 16-point second half lead, and ultimately went to overtime after Charlotte scored only 13 points in the fourth quarter, Lin was the best player on the floor.
Last night’s game lasted 53 minutes; Lin was on the court for more than 47 minutes. The Harvard man scored a game and season-high 35 points (13-22 from the field, 2-5 on threes), dished out four assists, grabbed five boards and somehow even blocked two shots. That’s right, you guys: Jeremy Lin, Rim Protector!
The Hornets scored 107.8 points per 100 possessions with Lin on the floor against Toronto, and yielded only 92.1 points per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com. Basically, Charlotte was a lot better with Lin in the game. In his nearly 48 minutes of PT last night, Lin covered a ton of ground, too: running a game-high 3.3 miles, per NBA.com player tracking. He was also second on the team in touches, behind only Walker.
Here’s a shot chart of Lin’s work Thursday night; as you can see, he did a lot of his work at the rim, where he was 7-12, including one really nice finish off an assist from big man Spencer Hawes:
This game almost didn’t even go into OT, but the Hornets made it to that extra period (zomg free basketball!) thanks to a HUGE assist from Raptors coach Dwane Casey, who called a timeout just before his star shooting guard DeMar DeRozan sunk a would-be 40-foot game-winner:
Thanks, Dwane. #RaptorsIcingRaptors
It’s almost too easy to pick and choose small moments in the course of the game, and say, THIS IS WHEN THINGS CHANGED, THIS WAS THE DEFINING PLAY.
However, after going to overtime, Toronto’s Kyle Lowry — the best point guard in the Eastern Conference so far this season — buried a short seven-foot shot, which gave the Raptors a 92-90 lead. 22 seconds later, though, Lin splashed a 25-foot three-pointer. The shot gave the lead back over to Charlotte — and, according to Inpredictable.com, it changed the team’s win probability from 39.8 percent to 53.1 percent, which is a major swing.
And if you were watching the game, this passed the eye test, too. Momentum is a silly thing, but this shot stopped the bleeding, and completely altered the outcome during that final five-minute session. It offered a sigh of relief, and got the Hornets back on track.
Batum is currently listed as questionable from Saturday’s showdown with John Wall and the Washington Wizards. Let’s hope he’s back — Charlotte needs him, but if not, look to Lin getting his second straight start.
The Hornets are currently fifth in the East, and a major reason for that has been the contributions of Lin, who at $2.1 million is an incredible value for Michael Jordan and Rich Cho. He has a player option for the 2016-17 season, and he’s hooping like he wants to opted-out for a bigger deal this offseason. (SO DON’T PLAY THAT WELL, DAMNIT, JEREMY.)
Now, bruh, all we’ve gotta do is figure out how to fix that hair.
The Charlotte Hornets are 15-10 and tied for 4th place in the East; they’ve gone 5-3 in the month of December — all of those games sans Al Jefferson, who was out with a calf injury, and will now begin serving a five-game suspension. I love Al, and he’s been the heart and soul of this team the last three years, but it’s no mystery why they’ve been so good without him: more shooting, faster, and better defensively. Good stuff here from Rick Bonnell, who examines what could happen next with Big Al and the Hornets.
Cam Newton is basically running Charlotte right now: When he’s not busy leading a 13-0 football team, Cam found time — on Tuesday — to run around Charlotte, surprising students and teachers at various schools with Christmas joy. Friend of the program Jonathan Jones was able to tag along for the festivities. Oh, also, Ice Cube and Kevin Hart were there, too, which produced this amazing Tweet:
Sticking with the Hurricanes — they’ve been playing better as of late, which is great to see. However, as Brett Finger writes over at Cardiac Cane, despite the newfound success, especially on the offensive end, the franchise needs to remain committed to a rebuild.
The Panthers stay winning, which pleases me; oh, look who’s in second place of the Eastern Conference standings in the NBA, too. The Hornets waxed a good Heat team in Charlotte last night, thanks to a collective effort led by Nic Batum’s triple-double, and now — at 13-8 — they’re currently No. 2 in the East. Yes, you read that correctly, sucka.
Charlotte Stories provides a brief but excellent backstory on Mary Ward — the 95-year-old Lincolnton, NC resident, who’s doing her best to keep the dab going, and cheer for her beloved Carolina Panthers.
Speaking of those Hornets: In this space, I’ve talked a lot about how their revitalized roster has opened the floor and ushered in an electric pace and space renovation in Buzz City. Some of what the Hornets did this offseason was maligned by fans and various media members, but as Rick Bonnell at the Charlotte Observer writes, those moves have paid major dividends so far.
Seriously, this team is fun to watch, man. And if you need one more reason to tune in, just know Jeremy Lin is outchea trying all different kinds of wacky hairstyles. This was him Wednesday night:
Following another dominant performance in Sunday’s thrilling come-from-behind victory in New Orleans, Panthers QB Cam Newton received another NFC Offensive Player of the Week award, but these now weekly handouts aren’t the only thing shedding light on Newton’s campaign: Over at USA TODAY Sports, Steven Ruiz has a solid breakdown on why Cam is one of the clearcut candidates for league MVP.
Pretty much everyone was taken aback last Friday when ECU fired alum and football coach Ruffin McNeil; AD Jeff Compher’s decision has drawn a great amount of ire (rightfully so) — and that extends beyond just the local media. Matt Brown of SB Nation on the Pirates’ questionable removal.
At the News and Observer: Chip Alexander was in attendance yesterday at the Raleigh Sports Club to hear the ACC’s supervisor of basketball officials, one John Clougherty, speak. According to Clougherty, technology has had a profound impact on officiating.
Last night, in Monday’s 104-84 thrashing of the Detroit Pistons in Charlotte, Marvin Williams — in 28 minutes of action — slapped up another double-double: 14 points (6-8 from the field), 12 rebounds. The win helped improve Charlotte’s record to 12-8, which is good for the No. 5 spot in the surprisingly good Eastern Conference. Not a bad first quarter of the season for a team who lost their best defender — Michael Kidd-Gilchrist — during the preseason.
The Hornets are winners of seven of their last nine games — and one of those losses came against the 22-0 Warriors, so I’m not even really sure if it should count. Additionally, four of those victories have come against teams that are either locks for the playoffs in the East, or will at least contend for a berth, including two straight over the Bulls and aforementioned Pistons — both of which came without low-post offensive hub Al Jefferson, who’s currently dealing with a strained left calf suspension likely due to–how do the kids say–training with Danny and Gerald Green? (Get better soon, Big Fella!)
The effort from Williams on Monday evening was his fifth double-double of the season, and he’s been a major reason why the Hornets are currently one of five teams who can boast both a top-10 offense and defense: Golden State, San Antonio, Cleveland, Indiana and Charlotte. Decent company, eh?
It’s Friday, and almost quitting time, as we get ready to enter a big sports weekend in NC. Clemson and UNC battling for the ACC crown in Charlotte, the undefeated Panthers looking for win No. 12 against the Aints, and the Hornets taking their show on the road for a good Eastern Conference match-up with Chicago Saturday night.
If you, for whatever reason, needed more encouragement to get excited, well, might I suggest turning your speaker’s volume up to max and blasting this track: Miike Snow (back again, finally) and Run The Jewels — Heart is Full Remix. Good luck avoiding brick walls to run through!
