Charlotte Hornets: How to Beat the Undefeated

The Charlotte Hornets welcome the Golden State Warriors to town tonight. Can the Hornets be the team to inflict Golden State’s first loss?

So how do the Charlotte Hornets defeat the Golden State Warriors? How do we turn Stephen Curry’s homecoming into Kobe Bryant’s? And how do we do all these things without Al Jefferson? Let’s try to answer these questions.

Opponent: Golden State Warriors (19-0)
Date: December 2nd
Time: 7:00 PM
TV: Fox Sports Southeast
Venue: Time Warner Cable Arena

1. Can Steph Curry score a hundred by himself?

The Hornets do not have a natural stopper to put on Curry, so the strategy should be to deny Curry all the help around him. The Hornets have shown good resolve playing the passing lanes in earlier games this season.

The other thing would be to deny Curry the ball. Since Curry is the point guard, that is basically impossible. So deny the Warriors the shots of Klay Thompson instead. The Hornets already don’t have to worry about Harrison Barnes due to injury.

When Curry us off the court, the Hornets should naturally move back to their base defense. The key will be scoring against the Warriors defense at a good enough clip.

2. Embrace the Home Court

The Hornets are 8-2 at home and 2-5 on the road. This game is being played in Charlotte. While Cleveland and Atlanta have beaten the Hornets at home, the team needs to forget about that. This is Time Warner, where the Hornets don’t lose. Maybe if we believe it enough, it will happen.

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3. Share the ball

The Warriors will likely move Andre Iguodala into the starting lineup. Iguodala has made his reputation as a pressure defender. The trick is that he cannot be everywhere at once. The Warriors will likely stick him on Batum, which means that Kemba Walker will have to be the focal point of the offense.

Walker will only prevail if he can create opportunities for open three point shooters. Crash down the line to draw in Andrew Bogut or Draymond Green and then find Marvin Williams or Spencer Hawes beyond the arc.

4. Total Team Effort

The Hornets need max efforts from every player who plays a minute of this game. That will mean a big effort from P.J. Hairston, who has seemingly disappeared on some box scores. This is also a game where the Hornets will need a big bench lift from the Jeremys.

The Hornets are just a few hours away from tip off. Somebody has to beat these guys, why not Charlotte?