Charlotte Hornets: Win in NY without Batum
The Charlotte Hornets got a necessary win in New York without an important cog.
The Charlotte Hornets defeated the New York Knicks last night to get back on the winning track after back to back losses against the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. However the fact of the Hornets’ 111-97 victory is not as important as how they did it.
Last night saw the Hornets without guard Nicolas Batum, and one begins to wonder whether this will be a common theme for the rest of the season. If so, the Hornets are probably best served by holding their ground in the playoff race instead of trying to improve their position.
So how did the Hornets overcome the absence of Batum distributing the ball around? The same way that they used to beat teams in the couple of years before this one. Kemba Walker scored a bunch of points including seven of ten from the three point line. That gave him thirty-four on the night and another big performance when the Hornets needed it.
His support came from Al Jefferson, who came off the bench for twenty-four points of his own. His ability to punish Knicks defenders in the post kept the ball going into the basket during those times when Walker was off the court.
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Coach Steve Clifford also adjusted his defensive lineup to better match the Knicks. This included starting Marvin Williams at the small forward. The Hornets tried Jeremy Lin against Toronto. It seems that this will be a game by game adjustment. Here the concern was most likely trying to find a matchup for Carmelo Anthony.
So the far the Hornets (45-33) have been following the model that we set up for them at the nine game mark. Their rivals have mostly behaved as expected too. The Celtics are ahead but the Heat are behind. Atlanta has also played to predicted results. The Hornets now sit in sixth, a half game back of the Heat and a full game back of the Celtics and Hawks.
The Brooklyn Nets come to town tomorrow night, and that should represent another win to allow the Hornets to keep pace. If Batum does not return before the playoffs, then the Hornets are likely to do no better than the sixth seed they occupy right now.