How In The World Did THAT Happen?
“I think that’s the beauty of our group, you never know who’s gonna step up on any given night. Any man on that bench, any (of the) 13, has to be active, live, and ready to go.” - Charlotte Hornets Head Coach James Borrego
There was a listlessness to the Charlotte Hornets for 36 minutes on Tuesday night against the Indiana Pacers. The Hornets who were down as much as 19 in the first half, cut the lead down to four in the middle of the 3rd quarter. Because the Pacers are a playoff caliber team, they respectfully got the lead up to 14 by the end of the quarter.
Which is exactly when James Borrego decided to insert the chaos factor known as Bismack Biyombo into the game. Biyombo added something that the Hornets hadn’t seen in a while — rim protection and a big who ACTIVELY blitzed pick and rolls.
In the 4th quarter and overtime Biz racked up 15 points (including one nasty ass flush on TJ Leaf in the fourth) , six rebounds and a steal. Biyombo ended the game being a plus-17 in the game, and added his name to the amount of guys who’s contributed to wins this season.
Another man, Cody Martin, contributed without registering a single point. Had a game-high plus minus of 27 and racked up 11 rebounds. His ability to be in the right spot at the right time and to stay in Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon’s jersey late was the stuff that can separate wins and losses.
As of today’s publishing, the Hornets are above .500 for the second time this season, again later than anyone thought and can have some sort of good feeling before the ghost of Hornets past comes walking through on Thursday. It’s 60 degrees in Charlotte, enjoy the feeling before Winter comes.
Cleaning Out The Fridge:
Terry Rozier had another solid game. Yes, he forced a lot of shots. But he hit some big shots. More importantly, the future of this back court in this 2019- 2020 NBA season is probably with Terry Rozier AND Devonte Graham. Anyone who’s trying to push the fact that Rozier and Graham cannot coexist is selling unnecessary drama. Speaking of Devonte…
I could’ve made him the topper for this game story but I didn’t because of the hype right now. The Hornets season is seven games old, lets relax on anointing Graham as “the next Kemba Walker". Devonte has CLEARLY been the best player on the Hornets thus far, and I don’t want to take anything away from him. But let’s remember that Graham was tutored by Kemba Walker AND Tony Parker last season, put in extra time in Greensboro and has had two summers with this coaching staff.
I mentioned it last night, but is anyone else worried about Dwayne Bacon? Yes, he’s the reason they won in Oakland. Yes he’s hit big shots in the season opener. The other 5 games this season have registered Bacon either nearly invisible or a net negative on defense. Those same blown assignments the fanbase would get mad at Malik for? Dwayne’s doing them now. We haven’t hit the magical 20 game mark to make some definitive statement, but there should be some concern.
Album Of The Day
I know everyone loves The Black Parade but this is my favorite MCR album. “Bulletproof Heart” , “Save Yourself And I’ll Hold Them Back” and “The Kids From Yesterday” are top 15 My Chemical Romance songs. Now that the stigma of emo should be gone, do yourself a favor and give this a spin.
Go out there and enjoy the weather and I’ll talk to you guys on Friday