Charlotte Hornets: Dismantling the Pacers At Home
The Charlotte Hornets revealed much about their success formula in a victory over Indiana.
The Charlotte Hornets defeated the Indiana Pacers last night and it was not close. The Hornets opened a huge forty-three point first quarter and then did not let up. The result was a twenty-two point victory 122-100. The game was important for the Hornets because it addressed several key factors for the team.
The first question was how the Hornets would handle playoff competition. The Pacers were a seventh seed in last year’s playoffs. They did some retooling in the off season, point guard Jeff Teague was brought in. Also added was Hornets stalwart Al Jefferson. Most people felt that the Pacers had improved their positioning.
The Hornets had played two playoff teams up to now. The Heat were not a true test as they no longer had Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh. The Celtics went lights out shooting and that denied the Hornets any ability to beat them. Against the Pacers, the Hornets took care of business.
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The Hornets also revealed a lot of their key spots through the stat arrangement. First they showed that they will depend on Kemba Walker to be the primary scorer. Walker had twenty-four points and has been consistently in the twenties all season long. He had ten assists to supplement his production.
However the +/- stat tells a different story as to the key cog. The leader in that stat (which tracks how the score fluctuates when a particular player is on the court) was defensive stopper Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. MKG had a +27 to lead the team and this is a reflection on how key defense is for this Hornets’ team. Paul George was held to ten points.
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The team was still without Roy Hibbert, but Cody Zeller contributed thirteen points and five rebounds. Extra rebounding punch came from bench guy Spencer Hawes, who contributed a double-double of his own. At the end of the shooting bench came Marco Belinelli for twelve more points. Belinelli is not quite the gunner yet, but he played better against the Pacers.
The Hornets own a small early lead in the Southeast Division and will play the Utah Jazz tomorrow night.