Charlotte lose a close one in overtime to the Los Angeles Clippers, 124-121

Charlotte Hornets lost a heartbreaker Sunday night, losing to the Los Angeles Clippers 124 to 121 in overtime. Starting center Cody Zeller (sore quad) and backup center Miles Plumlee (right calf injury) were out again this game. The Clippers jumped out to a 19-8 lead in the first quarter, but the Hornets would open the second quarter on a 15-0 run to take the lead. But with the help of JJ Redick and Blake Griffin, the Clippers would retake the lead going into halftime, 59-51. The Clippers looked like they had the game in hand late in regulation when Griffin hit a three-pointer and then finished a three-pointer to give the Clippers an 113-108 lead with 48 seconds left in the fourth quarter. But Kemba would hit a three-pointer and two clutch free-throws to tie the ball game up with 11 seconds left. Chris Paul missed a falling away 15-footer as time expired. Charlotte had a chance to win it at the end of overtime, trailing by one in overtime. But when Walker caught the end-bound pass he stepped on Paul’s foot which caused him to make a poor pass, which was picked off by Jordan with 8 seconds. He followed Paul’s miss layup on the other end with a dunk that sealed the victory for the Clippers.  

            The MVP for the Hornets this game would be Nicolas Batum who scored 31 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and handed out 4 assists. Nic hit 7 of his 8 three-pointers in the second half, which helped the Hornets get back in the game when the Clippers were up by double-digits early in the third quarter. Batum played great in the second half of this game, I only wish he would do it in every game since we paid him to be the second leading scorer of the team. No one should complain about the Hornets performance for this game. They played their hearts out. Especially in the fourth quarter, when both Michael-Kidd Gilchrist and Frank Kaminsky fouled out and players like Christian Wood and Jeremy Lamb stepped up big time, to push the game to overtime and gave us a chance to win it in overtime. Things would've been more likely different if we had our two centers playing to contain Jordan and Griffin and if the refs didn’t make some terrible calls in the fourth and overtime, from a missed goaltending, to a couple no calls late in the game. The leading scorers for the Hornets this game were Kemba Walker with 34 points, Jeremy Lamb with 19 points 6 rebounds, Frank Kaminsky with 16 points, Christian Wood with 4 points and 6 rebounds. The leading scorers for the Clippers were Blake Griffin with 43 points 10 rebounds, JJ Redick with 22 points, DeAndre Jordan with 20 points 19 rebounds, Chris Paul with 15 points 17 assists and 9 rebounds in his second back from a thumb injury. The Charlotte Hornets (25-34) stay in Los Angeles to face off against the struggling Lakers Tuesday night.  

Charlotte Hornets finally get a win, beating the Sacramento Kings 99-85

Charlotte Hornets snapped a five-game losing streak Saturday when they defeated the Sacramento Kings 99-85. The Kings had won five of their previous six games before today, while the Hornets ended their 12-game road skid. Starting center Cody Zeller (quad contusion), backup center Miles Plumlee (calf strain) and backup point guard Ramon Sessions (left knee) were all out for the Hornets this game. Charlotte Hornets took the lead late in the first quarter and led the rest of the game, for the second win in 14 games. Hornets held the Kings to 18 points in the third quarter to gain a 23-point lead. The Kings would cut the lead to 12 late in the fourth quarter, but a Kemba Walker layup, then Marvin Williams followed that up with a dagger three with less than a minute in the game.

            The MVP for the Hornets this game would be Frank Kaminsky who scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Frank has been playing fantastic lately, over last three games Frank has average 22 points per game. Frank hit 5 threes in today’s game, who been taking Cody’s place in the starting lineup. After blowing double-digits leads in two straight games, the Hornets took a large early and held that lead, which is a great thing to see. The leading scorers for the Hornets this game was Marvin Williams with 16 points, Nicolas Batum with 15 points, Marco Belinelli with 13 points 6 assists, Kemba Walker with 12 points 6 assists and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist who grabbed 12 rebounds. The leading scorers for the Kings this game was Ben McLemore with 18 points, Buddy Hield with 15 points in his second game as a King since being traded from the New Orleans, Tyreke Evans with 11 points and Anthony Tolliver with 11 points. Charlotte Hornets (25-33) play again tomorrow against the Los Angeles Clippers. 

Charlotte Hornets lose to the Detroit Pistons in overtime, 114-108

After the All-Star break, the Charlotte Hornets drop one to the Detroit Pistons, 114-108 in overtime Thursdays night. It’s the Hornets fifth straight loss and has only won one game in the month of February. The Hornets were without starting center Cody Zeller again with a quad soreness, they were also without backup center Miles Plumlee who is expected to be out at least two weeks with a second-degree calf strain. Charlotte would close the second quarter on a 24-9 run and lead at halftime, 62-50. Hornets would expand their lead to 18 in the third quarter. But Charlotte would start the fourth quarter missing 14 out of their 15 shots and only scoring four points in the first seven minutes. That’s when Kentavious Caldwell-Pope took over, scoring Detroit’s last 11 points in the quarter and hit a three-pointer with 18 seconds left to tie the game up at 100. Kemba Walker drove to the basket but was forced to pass the ball to Marvin Williams who passed it to Marco Belinelli who missed a three-pointer that would’ve won it. Pistons would start overtime on a 5-0 run and with 55 seconds left in overtime Pope would hit a three to put the Pistons up, 110-102. Detroit never trailed in overtime.

            The MVP for the Hornets this game would be Kemba Walker who scored 34 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out 6 assists. Kemba who just finished his first All-Star weekend, where he finished third in the three-point contest and scored 7 points in the All-Star game, looked like he had his swagger back. In the first quarter, he made two amazing passes, one was behind the back to Frank Kaminsky who knocked down the three-pointer. And with last than a minute left in regulation scored last 9 points for the Hornets, on some clutch shots. This game was very similar to the Raptors game a week ago, both games the Hornets play great for three-quarters and had double-digits leads heading into the fourth quarter. Then the offense shuts down in the fourth and Hornets end up losing. When they should be on a two-game winning streak. If Nic Batum could guard one player for about a minute, we would’ve won because Batum was one guarding Pope in the fourth, Kemba kept bailing Nic out with his clutch shots, but Nic could not guard Pope in the fourth quarter. But the two stats that stood out for me this game was Detroit outscoring Charlotte 39-14 in bench points and other than Kemba Walker, Hornets went combined 4-22 in the fourth quarter and overtime was 0-3 from the three-point line. Also, the Hornets are 0-4 in overtime games this year, if anyone was wondering. Hornets leading scorers this game was Nicolas Batum with 18 points 6 rebounds, Frank Kaminsky with 17 points, Marvin Williams with 13 points 7 rebounds and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with 12 points 14 rebounds. Detroit’s leading scorers for this game was Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with 33 points 9 rebounds, Tobias Harris with 25 points, Marcus Morris with 16 points 8 rebounds and Ish Smith with 16 assists. Charlotte Hornets (24-33) visits Sacramento Kings Saturday, it will be Hornets third of seven straight away games.   

Carolina Panthers drafting either Leonard Fournette or Dalvin Cook? NFL mock drafts 1.0

Since the Charlotte Hornets are on the All-Star break, I decided started to looking at some 2017 NFL Mock Drafts and see what some analysts think what the Carolina Panthers will do in the first round. CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and NFL.com all believe that the Panthers will draft running back, Leonard Fournette from LSU with the 8^th pick in the draft. While, SB Nation also believes that the Panthers will draft Leonard Fournette, but will make a trade with the Tennessee Titans to move up to the fifth spot while Tennessee will move down to the 8^th spot and taking the 72th pick from us. Panthers would be leapfrogging the New York Jets to get Fournette. The only site I found that didn’t have the Panthers drafting Fournette, was FoxSports who predicts the Panthers to draft running back Dalvin Cook from Florida State with the 8^th pick in the draft.

Coming out of high school Leonard Fournette was the number one recruit in the nation and decided to stay home and play for LSU. As a true freshman, he led SEC in all-purpose yards (137.4 per game; 1,034 rushing yards and 625 on kickoff returns). He followed that up his Sophomore year with nearly hitting the 2,000-yard mark (1,953) and scoring 22 touchdowns. But before his junior year he suffered an ankle injury, which limited him to play seven games and skipping LSU bowl game. Fournette strengths are; he’s built like a linebacker with speed of a receiver. Long, powerful strides that hit second gear faster than most big backs. Has balance and power to plow through tackle attempts and with a punishing stiff arm. Has experience running from two-back, single-back and off-set looks. Hands are adequate in passing game. Can create for himself with power and speed. Wins in short-yardage and goal-line situations. Leonard Fournette weaknesses are Aggressive, take-on style could lead to shortened career. Struggled with a bad ankle for most of the season. Too quick to hit the accelerator and slam into defenders when there are still cuts and yards left in the play. Doesn't see cutback lanes developing as outside zone runner and prefers to keep runs play-side. Pass protection and routes need extensive work.

Dalvin Cook is first FSU player to break the 1,000-yard mark as a freshman. Next two years only got better, scoring 19 times, and earning All-ACC both years. Also, named 2016 first-team All-American by Associated Press. But has had some injuries and run in with the law; had hamstring issues in 2015 and three shoulder surgeries since high school, also tore his rotator cuff in high school, then tore part of his labrum in 2014 and again in 2016. His run in with law started when he was in high school, robbery in 2009 (charges dropped); firing and possessing a weapon on school property in 2010 (charges dropped) and again in 2015 where he was charged with misdemeanor battery outside a bar (found not guilty). Dalvin Cook strengths, compact stride length downhill. Cook flourished in zone, gap, and power schemes at FSU. His best is when running wide allowing lead blockers to set up. Able to escape defenders with good vision and hesitation steps and the ability to change directions with ease. Great red zone runner; brighter the lights, the better he plays. He’s comfortable in both one-back and two-back groupings. Can be dangerous out of the backfield. Delvin Cook weaknesses are not always a tough inside runner, needs to be more comfortable between the tackles. Needs to work on his stiff-arm, inconsistent hands; ball security is an issue with 13 career fumbles. Won’t square-up on blitzers and may not be reliable enough as a blocker to play on third downs.

With the Panthers cutting Fullback Mike Tolbert today which means two things for the Panthers. First the Panthers will probably sign free agent wide receiver Victor Cruz and draft a running back in this year draft. Which the Panthers desperately need Jonathan Stewart is getting up there in age and always gets hurt mid-way in the season and Cameron Artis-Payne hasn’t showed that he can take Stewarts place. Out of the two running backs I just talked about I would rather have the Panthers draft Dalvin Cook. I seen Cook play in person, when he went to Raleigh and played NC State. I can see him being a great running back in the NFL and fitting in with the Panthers offense well. The past injuries and Criminal background is worrying and something to keep a close-eye on. But at the same time if the Panthers do draft Fournette I would be OK with that too. Fournette is a great running back and I can see him being the next Jonathan Stewart but with that ankle injury just doesn’t feel like the best pick for the Panthers. There is over a month until the NFL draft and more likely things will change, Tell me who you want the Panthers to draft in this year draft!

Charlotte Hornets losses fourth straight Wednesday, losing to the Toronto Raptors 90-85

Charlotte Hornets lost to the Toronto Raptors, 90 to 85 Wednesday night. Snapped a three-game losing streak for Toronto, while Charlotte has lost four straight games and eleven consecutive road games. Starting center Cody Zeller (quad contusion) and backup center Miles Plumlee (strained right calf) both didn’t play for the Hornets, so rookie Mike Tobey came off the bench as backup center for the Hornets, he didn’t play that bad for his first NBA game. The Raptors started the game on 7-0 run and would end the first quarter on a 19-6 run. The Raptors led by as many as 14 points early in the second quarter before Walker got hot. The All-Star guard hit all four of his three-point shots in the quarter, including three in a 48-second stretch. Which help cut the Raptors lead at halftime to 44-41. But in the third quarter is where Charlotte went off, shooting 76% from the field and outscoring Toronto 34-14 in the quarter. Helped give the Hornets a 75-58 lead heading into the fourth quarter. But Charlotte started the fourth 0 for 11 from the field, which allowed the Raptors to go on a 20-2 run to quickly retake the lead. It took all of five minutes for the Hornets to blow a 17-point lead. Lowry had a three-point play to break an 82-82 tie with 1:40 to go. After Delon Wright fast break layup made it a 5-point game, Nic Batum hit a three-pointer to pull Charlotte within two, but DeMarre Carroll hit a three-pointer with 7 seconds left to ice the game for Toronto.

            The MVP for the Hornets this game would be Michael Kidd-Gilchrist who scored 6 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, it’s the team-best 15th game of the season with at least 10 rebounds. MKG did a great job of containing DeRozan a player who is averaging 27.7 points per game, to just 10 points for the entire game. Which allowed the Hornets the chance to get the win and he always does a good job cutting to the basket and getting to the basket on the offense side. There not much to complain about the Hornets this game, they played good defense and moved the ball well and scored on the offense, until the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter killed them, blowing a 17-point lead, and only scoring 10 points in the quarter is terrible. The leading scorers for the Hornets were Frank Kaminsky with 27 points (a career high), Kemba Walker with 24 points 9 assists and Nicolas Batum with 10 points 6 turnovers. The leading scorers for the Raptors this game was Kyle Lowry with 21 points 6 rebounds 6 assists, Norman Powell with 17 points and DeMarre Carroll with 13 points, 11 rebounds. Charlotte Hornets (24-32) return from the All-Star break with six-straight road games, which begins at Detroit on February 23. Good luck to Kemba Walker, who will be participating in the three-point contest Saturday night and will be playing in the NBA All-Star game Sunday night. 

Philadelphia 76ers picked up third straight win, beating the Charlotte Hornets 105-99

Nic Batum did not make good on his promise Saturday when he told reporters that he guaranteed a win against the 76ers Monday night. Philadelphia 76ers picked up their third straight win when they beat the Charlotte Hornets, 105-99. It’s the Hornets third straight loss, Hornets have lost their last ten out of eleven games. Starting centers for 76ers Joel Embiid (left knee contusion) and Jahlil Okafor (who is expected to be traded to the Pelicans) didn’t travel with the team. While Hornets starting center Cody Zeller was out again with a quad contusion, Frank Kaminsky took his place in the starting lineup. At halftime, Charlotte was down 48-46 but would go on a 7-2 run to start the third quarter to take a four-point lead. But the 76ers would respond with a 10-0 run to quickly re-take the lead. Starting the fourth quarter 76ers were up eight, the Hornets would cut it to six with less than a minute to go when Kemba hit a jumper, Batum had a golden chance to cut the lead to two when he stole the ball from Henderson but his three-pointer attempt from the corner hit the rim and bounce out of play. The 76ers would hold on after that to get the win.

            The MVP for the Hornets this game would be Kemba Walker with 29 points and 7 rebounds. Kemba was on a rough streak of games where he didn’t look like himself but tonight he looked like his self. He got to the basket with ease and shot the ball much better as well. The three stats from this game that really stands out, is first the rebounding margin. 76ers out-rebounded the Hornets 51-33, which helped them get 11 second-chance points, while the Hornets only had 3 second-chance points. The last stat that stood out was the points in the paint 76ers had 56 points in the paint while Hornets had 36. I know Cody Zeller was out and backup center Miles Plumlee left in the second half with a strained right calf. But that just means that others players must stand up and get physical. This team lacks that outside of Cody, Plumlee, and Kemba. Before I go into the leading scorers for tonight game, I wanted to talk about the trade the Hornets made earlier today, Hornets and Cavs agreed to a trade today, that sent Chris Anderson and cash to Charlotte in exchange for a highly protected second-round pick. The Hornets waived Anderson immediately when the trade was approved and they only way Cleveland would get the second-round pick was if the Hornets finished this season with one of the top-five records in the NBA. Which is highly unlikely unless teams start losing a lot of games and Hornets start winning a lot of games. The trade help opened a roster spot for the Cavs who are looking to sign a backup point guard, while the Hornets can use the cash to help them either get a better backup point guard or more bench scoring. Overall the trade was a win-win for both teams. The leading scorers for the Hornets this game was Nicolas Batum with 16 points, Frank Kaminsky with 12 points 11 rebounds, Jeremy Lamb with 12 points and Marco Belinelli with 8 points. The leading scorers for the 76ers this game was Dario Saric with 18 points 11 rebounds, Robert Covington with 17 points, T.J. McConnell with 14 points 7 assists and Gerald Henderson with 12 points. Charlotte Hornets (24-31) travel to play the Toronto Raptors Wednesday night. 

Los Angeles Clippers gave the Charlotte Hornets second straight loss, 107-102

Charlotte Hornets loss for the second straight time Saturday when the Los Angeles Clippers beat them, 107-102. Charlotte’s have lost nine of past ten games and the Clippers have beaten the Hornets five straight times. All-Star point guard Chris Paul was out with a left thumb injury, while Hornets starting center Cody Zeller was out due to quad soreness, he has missed eight of last nine games for Charlotte. Clippers started the game 0-for-6 from the field, which allowed the Hornets to take an 11-point lead. But Griffin would start going and would score 11 points in the first to help give the Clippers the lead at the end of the first quarter. The Hornets would go on a little run to tie the game with two minutes left in the quarter, but Rivers would hit a layup with 5 seconds left to give the Clippers a 53-51 lead at halftime. The Clippers would extend their lead to 11 with 11 minutes left in the game, but the Hornets would go on a 21-13 run lead by Frank Kaminsky 12 points in the fourth to cut the deficit to just three points with less than four minutes left. But after an ally-oop by DeAndre Jordan and Rivers three-pointer gave the Clippers an 8-point lead and the Hornets just couldn’t make a comeback.

            The MVP for the Hornets this game would be Frank Kaminsky who scored 20 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Frank played great after taking Cody’s place in the starting lineup. He exploded DeAndre Jordan weakness of not being able to guard the three-point line well and use that to get to the basket and hit a couple of three-pointers. Just wished he would do that off the bench, seems like the only time he plays well anymore is when he’s in the starting lineup because someone is injured. That and he stills needs to work on his defense and how to box-out. The alone thing I really want to talk about this game would be Kemba Walker play in the past few games. In the Houston Rockets post, I believed that Kemba was started to get out of his bad groove and that he would play better this game. I was completely wrong on that, Kemba shot 4-of-18 (22%) from the field and was 1-of-9 (11%) from the three-point line. He looks tired out there and unfortunately for him he not going to get a rest on All-Star weekend this year since he an All-Star. So, I don’t really know any suggestion to get him going again but the Hornets need to get him going again. Just like Cubs Manager Joe Maddon said to Dexter Fowler last year, “You go, we go” which applies to Kemba Walker and Hornets success. When Kemba plays well the Hornets play good and when he doesn’t play well the Hornets don’t play good. The leading scorers for the Hornets this game would be Nicolas Batum with 25 points 6 rebounds 8 assists, Marco Belinelli with 17 points and Jeremy Lamb with 13 points. The leading scorers for the Clippers were Jamal Crawford with 22 points, Blake Griffin with 20 points 12 rebounds 8 assists, Austin Rivers with 18 points (he scored 16 of those points in the second half) 5 assist, J.J. Redick with 10 points and DeAndre Jordan who grabbed 16 rebounds. Charlotte Hornets (24-30) host the Philadelphia 76ers Monday, Hornets last home game until March 6^th. 

Houston Rockets beat the Charlotte Hornets, 107-95

Charlotte Hornets loss to the Houston Rockets, 107 to 95 Thursday night. It's Rockets third straight win while Hornets have dropped eight of their last nine games. Eric Gordon (back soreness) and Nene (shoulder) both didn’t play tonight against the Hornets, while Charlotte’s starting center Cody Zeller finally came back after missing seven straight games with a quad contusion. But in the second half, Zeller left the game and wouldn’t come back due to soreness in his quad, he finished with nine points and four rebounds. Charlotte Hornets looked great in the first half of this game, holding James Harden to just 13 points on 3-of-12 shooting; and taking a 54-50 lead into halftime. But in the second half that’s when James Harden got going, scoring 14 points in the third quarter alone and the Rockets scoring 36 points in the third quarter. It was all Rockets in the second half and the Hornets was never able to make a comeback.

            The MVP for the Hornets this game would be Kemba Walker who scored 14 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and handed out 5 assists. I mentioned in my last post about Kemba shooting struggles in the past few games, tonight even though wasn’t perfect, looked like he’s heading back to his old self of scoring at will. The leading scorers for the Hornets this game were Nicolas Batum with 15 points 8 rebounds 10 assists, Marvin Williams with 12 points 7 rebounds and Marco Belinelli with 10 points off the bench. Now I have some good and bad things to say about this game. The good is when Cody Zeller was in the game, the team looked completely different. Especially on the offensive side, with his pick-and-roll to setting screens to moving without the basketball. He just made the offense and defense much better. I’m just hoping its nothing serious with his quad and able to play Saturday. The bad was the fact that the Hornets turned the ball over a season-high 22 times that lead to 27 points for Houston. You cannot win if you have that many turnovers, and many of those turnovers were unforced. The other thing is the Hornets shot selection in the second half was terrible. When you are to come back from 10 down on a very good offensive team and one of the top scorers in the NBA, you must get good looks on the offensive side. Frank Kaminsky, Jeremy Lamb, and Marco Belinelli shot some very questionable shots in the second half of this game. Houston turned the ball over 17 times but the Hornets only scored 8 points off the turnovers. The leading scorers for the Rockets were James Harden with 30 points 11 rebounds 8 assists and 9 turnovers, Patrick Beverley with 17 points, Montrezl Harrell with 15 points and Ryan Anderson with 14 points. Charlotte Hornets (24-29) host the Los Angeles Clippers Saturday. 

Charlotte Hornets snapped seven-game losing streak, beating Brooklyn Nets 111-107

Charlotte Hornets snapped a seven-game losing streak by beating the Brooklyn Nets 111 to 107 Tuesday night. It’s the Nets tenth straight loss and with the win, the Hornets win the season series with the Nets 3 to 1. Starting center Cody Zeller missed his eight-straight game with a quad contusion and backup point guard Ramon Sessions missed his second straight game with a lateral meniscus tear, which he is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with the injury. Frank Kaminsky got the start at center again with Zeller out. Hornets quickly went on a 10-0 run in the first quarter to take a 14-4 advantage and held the Nets to just 16 points on 6-of-22 (.273) shooting in the quarter. Charlotte would go on a 10-2 run to end the first half and at halftime, the Hornets lead 54-37. Brooklyn would come out to start the third quarter 5-for-5 and go on an 11-2 run to cut the lead to seven. But the Hornets would response with a 7-0 run highlighted by Marvin Williams posterized dunk on Randy Foye. Then with 43 seconds left in the game, Kemba would make a layup to help seal the win for the Hornets.

            The MVP for the Hornets this game would be Jeremy Lamb who scored 16 points and grabbed 7 rebounds off the bench. It was hard to choose one this game since several Hornets played well in my opinion. But Lamb gets it since he played great tonight and hopefully, he plays like this every game because it would be nice for the Hornets to have his scoring off the bench along with Belinelli. He can score in so many ways; driving to the basket, shooting the three ball, posting up, shooting the mid-range jumper. The only worry is if he going to show up on defense, which he did tonight but he has the habit of showing on defense one night and the next night not play a lick of defense. The leading scorers for the Hornets were Kemba Walker with 17 points 5 assists, Nicolas Batum with 17 points 8 rebounds, Marco Belinelli with 17 points, Frank Kaminsky with 12 points and 11 rebounds. The only thing that worried me about the Hornets is the recent play of Kemba Walker. Kemba was a combined 7-of-22 against the Warriors and Jazz and tonight against the Nets he was 4-of-20. He clearly hasn’t been shooting the ball well, I don’t think it’s anything major and that’s Kemba will get back on track soon but it’s something to keep an eye on. The leading scorers for the Nets were Bojan Bogdanovic with 22 points, Brook Lopez with 20 points 4 blocks, Trevor Brooker with 10 points 12 rebounds and Isaiah Whitehead with 11 points and 7 assists. Charlotte Hornets (24-28) return to action Thursday night when they host the explosive Houston Rockets.  

Utah Jazz hands the Charlotte Hornets there seventh straight loss, 105-98

Charlotte Hornets loss to the Utah Jazz 105-98 Saturday night. It's Charlotte’s seventh straight loss and tenth straight loss on the road. Starting center Cody Zeller missed his sixth straight game due to a quadriceps contusion, Hornets are 1-12 when he doesn’t play this season. Hornets were also without backup point guard Ramon Sessions who has a torn meniscus in his knee. Miles Plumlee played his first game as a Hornet after being traded from the Bucks for Spencer Hawes and Roy Hibbert on Thursday and despite not being able to practice with the team, which at the time was noticeable but overall played fine, scoring four points, and grabbed eight rebounds in 17 minutes of play. Charlotte came out firing to start the game quickly taking a double-digit lead, led by starting center Frank Kaminsky who scored 12 points in the first quarter. But the Jazz did close the second quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 52-44 lead at halftime. But again, the Hornets came out firing to start the second half scoring 38 points in the third quarter and taking a ten-point lead heading into the fourth. Then Utah went on a 21-4 run capped by Johnson three-pointer to give the Jazz a 103-96 lead with 59 seconds left in the game.

            The MVP for the Hornets this game would be Marvin Williams who tallied a double-double, 16 points 12 rebounds. Marvin hasn’t been playing well lately and hopefully, this was a picker-upper game for him and hopefully starts playing better. The leading scorers for the Hornets were Kemba Walker with 18 points 6 assists, who was questionable with an illness and didn’t look like his regular self out there. He also passed Gerald Wallace for second in all-time franchise points. Frank Kaminsky scored 15 points while Marco Belinelli added 13 points off the bench. There multiple things that Hornets didn’t do that cost them the win tonight. I’m going to touch on two of them since its late while I’m typing this. The first thing is Charlotte was outrebounded 51-38 in the game and allowed Utah to get 11 offense rebounds. I understand that your starting center is out and the center you just traded for, hasn’t even practiced with the team but you can’t win on the road in the NBA if you allow the home team to outrebound you by that kind of margin. The other thing the Hornets need to work on is their fourth quarter defense, over the past few years, the Hornets were in top ten in the NBA in fourth quarter defense, this year there in the bottom half in that category. When you let, a team go on a 21-4 run in the fourth quarter, that’s hard to overcome. Cause if you do manage to tie it up, all the memento is with the other team in the closing seconds of the game. Utah’s leading scorers were Gordon Hayward with 33 points 8 rebounds, George Hill with 25 points, Joe Johnson with 18 points 6 rebounds and Dante Exum with 11 points. Charlotte Hornets (23-28) come back home Tuesday night to host the Brooklyn Nets who has lost eight straight games. 

Charlotte Hornets trade for Miles Plumlee

Charlotte Hornets have traded Roy Hibbert and Spencer Hawes to the Milwaukee Bucks for center Miles Plumlee. Plumlee who played college ball at Duke, has been in the league for four years after being drafted 26^th in the 2012 draft by the Indiana Pacers. He was traded to the Phoenix Suns in 2013 and then was traded again in 2015 to the Milwaukee Bucks. He’s averaging two points and one rebound this season for the Bucks, while his career average is five points four rebounds per game. Roy Hibbert has been averaging five points three rebounds per game this season and Hawes has been averaging seven points four rebounds this season. When I first heard about this trade I didn’t like it at all, but after reading up on Plumlee and watching few of his highlights and realizing that both Hawes and Hibbert has been terrible for the Hornets this season, I like this is a plus for the Hornets. Plumlee looks like a Cody Zeller knock-off, he’s a solid pick-and-roll player, moves well without the ball, cuts to the basket well and is a good defender. The only thing that I don’t like about this trade is Plumlee contract, were going to have to pay him 12.5 million for four years. That’s a lot of money for the Hornets, especially if they want to make a move this offseason deep free agency. Also, that’s a lot for a player that will be coming off the bench. We were paying Hawes and Hibbert a total of 10 million this season. I do believe the Hornets will make another move before the tradeline, possibly get more bench depth or scoring, possibly get Nikola Mirotić from the Chicago Bulls? The Hornets have also signed center Mike Tobey to a 10-day contract, who's been playing well for the Greensboro Swarm this season. The trade will be finalized later today. 

Charlotte Hornets blown out by Golden State Warriors, 126-111

Charlotte Hornets were blown out by the Golden State Warriors, 126 to 111 Wednesday night. It’s the second time in exactly a week these two teams played each other and both times the Hornets loss. Its Charlotte’s sixth straight loss and ninth straight loss on the road. Golden State were without starting center Zaza Pachulia, David West, and Shawn Livingston, while the Hornets were without starting center Cody Zeller for the fifth straight game due to a quadriceps contusion, Hornets are 1 of 11 this season when he doesn’t play. Steph Curry came out on firing making his first four three-pointers and scoring 18 points in the first quarter after missing one game due to an illness. It wasn’t a good game to watch for Hornets fans, by the end of the first quarter the game was basically over with and at the beginning of the fourth quarter both team’s starters were on bench. It didn’t help that the Hornets were on the second night of a back-to-back while Golden State had two days’ rest and was at home where it’s very hard to beat them.

            The MVP for the Hornets this game would be Frank Kaminsky who scored a career high 24 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Frank took advantaged of early miss matches and posted up and scored on easy shots to help him get going. Frank played good last night against the Blazers and hopefully this means he will start playing better because the Hornets need his scoring off the bench badly. The leading scorers for the Hornets were Marco Belinelli with 16 points 7 assists, Marvin Williams with 14 points and Nicolas Batum with 13 points 5 rebounds 7 assists. Golden State’s leading scorers were Stephen Curry who scored 39 points and dished out 8 assists in three quarters of play, Klay Thompson with 29 points and 8 assists, Kevin Durant with 18 points 8 rebounds 8 assists and JaVale McGee with 9 points and 4 blocks. Charlotte Hornets (23-27) play again Saturday night when go to Utah to face off against the Jazz. 

Charlotte Hornets fall to the Portland Trail Blazers, 115-98

Charlotte Hornets fall to the Portland Trail Blazers 115-98 Tuesday night. It's Charlotte’s fifth straight loss and Portland’s fourth win in their last five games. Blazers have won nine straight home games against the Hornets. The Hornets were without Cody Zeller again due to quadriceps contusion, Zeller has missed four straight games due to the injury and sounds like the Hornets will be without him tomorrow night when they face-off against the Golden State Warriors. The Hornets are 1-10 this season when he doesn’t play. Portland started the game missing their first eight shots and not scoring in the first three minutes of the game but Lillard would end that with a three-pointer and would go on and score 14 points in the first quarter. Behind, Allen Crabbe 13 points in the second quarter the Blazers would take a 56 to 50 lead at halftime. Portland went on an 11-2 run to start the second half and wouldn’t look back after that. Blazers would lead as much as 24 points and with six minutes left in the game, Steve Clifford decided to put in the scrubs and let them play for the rest of the game.

            The MVP for the Hornets this game would be Nicolas Batum with 18 points 8 rebounds 6 assists and 4 turnovers. To be honest with you, everyone for the Hornets played terrible tonight in my opinion so I guess Nic Batum played the least amount of terribleness?  Hornets leading scorers were Kemba Walker with 22 points 5 assists, who in the first quarter moved into third place on the Hornets scoring list. Marvin Williams scored 10 points and grabbing 5 rebounds while Marco Belinelli added 6 points off the bench. I know I’ve talked about the lack of bench scoring for the Hornets about a week ago, but I need to bring it up again since tonight’s the Hornets were outscored 50-30 in bench points. That is bad if the Hornets want to make it back to the playoffs this season, they’re going to need to trade for bench scoring because you cannot win with a terrible bench like we do. And with the trade deadline coming up, I’m hoping they make a move to get extra scoring, there plenty of options for them. Also, don’t get why Jeremy Lamb isn’t playing, I know he missed a lot of time due to injury’s but he was cleared to play about a week ago, and tonight was the first time he played and even then, he only played the last six minutes of tonight’s game with the scrubs. Does Clifford not trust him again like last year or is he that out of shape? Portland leading scorers were Damian Lillard with 27 points, who has scored 20-plus points in each of his 10 games against the Hornets. C.J. McCollum scored 18 points while Allen Crabbe scored 21 points off the bench and Mason Plumlee scored 7 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Charlotte Hornets (23-26) play again tomorrow night against the Golden State Warriors.