Towards the end of the 3rd quarter I realized this was, more or less, just going to be a standard loss. The Hornets got killed from deep, the offense had flashes above mediocrity, blown out in the 3rd quarter, Monty confused us with Davis’ minutes, Eric Gordon faded in the 2nd half, blah blah blah…you know the drill as it’s been in almost every recap this year.
This game was going to be tougher for the Hornets than it looked. The Wizards have been surging a bit since the return of John Wall. But for a time in the 1st quarter this game didn’t seem like it was going to be the usual. The Hornets actually came out and at least had a man around the Wizards’ perimeter shooters rather than just giving up uncontested 3’s. Davis and Gordon were attacking inside (the Hornets scored 20 points in the paint compared to the Wizards’ 4 in the first quarter). Monty showed flashes of creative offense. All was good.
And I think that’s the most maddening part of this season. We’ve seen bits and pieces here and there of what this team could be, but it’s all sandwiched in between prolonged stretches of nothingness. Not badness or wretchedness, just nothingness. Certainly the Hornets have had moments where they looked awful, but overall it’s just been a bland season. Too many times the most exciting player has sat on the bench or stayed in the corner on offense. Too many times the Hornets have run and ineffective pick and roll.
I’m not a fan of tanking. I was hoping to see the team gel some more or just try something different from the season norm, or at least just get consistently better. Davis certainly has improved but overall I’m just not seeing much from the team. If that’s not going to happen then I might have to jump on board the tank.
And for those happy about losing to the Wizards, this is for you. Just replace Train with Tank.
6 responses to “Hornets Lose to Wizards in Standard Fashion”
While I’m not as excited about tanking as some, like McNamara, I understand this could greatly benefit our draft standing. So while I’m not devastated that we lost, I’m getting more apprehensive about our future. Sure we need to improve our roster, but AD, Gordon and Anderson played tonight; a few of our assumed franchise cornerstones. And we get killed by the Wizards. Even if they are on a roll now, we should be in the game at the end. The end of this season is getting uglier with every game.
I think we need to revisit some basic strategy.. Closing out too hard on people like Ariza, and I don’t see the point in doubling Okafor in the post, especially if he doesn’t have good position. Traps are fine when he’s in the corner and looking the other way, but a lot of our lineups have two or three guys who are too slow to properly rotate anyway. It just seems like these guys have no clue of the skill sets of the opposing players. Typical lulls w/ stagnant offense and no movement.
Typical 2012-2013 game. The tank is alive
Soooo the guy who was scoring a point a minute and the only one with a positive +/- only got 16 min…
He had 5 fouls.
anyone has any idea why our best plsyer last night (davis) sat out almost the entire second half???
Same old same old? How about a guy with a well earned reputation as poor shooter, John Wall, had a career shooting night, Ryan Anderson wasn’t near a 100%, and Davis was in foul trouble!