Charlotte Hornets: Break Losing Streak By Naturally Beating Atlanta
The Charlotte Hornets got well against the most likely team that could ever happen against, the Atlanta Hawks. Sure.
The Charlotte Hornets broke from their losing streak last night with a 107-84 thumping of division rival Atlanta. The Hornets had lost seven straight before running into the Hawks, who were not a team from the Western Conference at least. Most of the Hornets’ recent losses had to do with teams from out there in one fashion or another.
So logically the Atlanta Hawks were viewed as the ideal springboard game to defeat the streak. You know, the 23-15 Atlanta Hawks. A team who beaten Charlotte the last three times they played. A team who had beaten the Hornets four times in five. A team who had beaten the Hornets in fifteen of the last eighteen.
What did happen last night? Well part if it was the play of Nicolas Batum. Batum’s injury has been more harmful to the Hornets than the injuries to Al Jefferson, but last night Batum scored six key points. Okay, more importantly he had ten assists which went to other players for their points. That means that Batum was responsible for about twenty-six points of offense in a game decided by twenty-three points.
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Another key player was Cody Zeller who registered a 19 point 10 rebound performance while spending most of those minutes at the center position. Rebounding had been an open question with Jefferson hurt, but Zeller and the crew managed to outrebound the likes Paul Millsap and Al Horford by seventeen rebounds. It was evidence of hustle that the team had not quite been able to put together in recent games.
Nor did the Hornets stop scoring. Although they had a drought at the end of the first quarter, the Hornets continued to get production from the bench. So when starter Kemba Walker would sit down while scoring 23, backup Jeremy Lin would come in and score nineteen more. The only down side was an injury to the other Jeremy, Jeremy Lamb, which hopefully is not major.
The Hornets now need to go and prove this was not a favorable alignment of the stars if they intend to get back in the playoff race. Their next chance is tomorrow night in New Orleans.