Re: GAME THREAD: BLAZERS @ HORNETS - NOVEMBER 26, 2014 - WEDNESDAY, 4:00 PM (PST), CS
Blazers @ Charlotte Game Preview (11/24/14):
Them: 4-7, last place in the Southeast Division, losers of 6 in a row
Our Last game: v. PHI 11/24/14
ESPN said:
LaMarcus Aldridge had 15 of his 33 points during the pivotal third quarter to help the Trail Blazers defeat Philadelphia 114-104 on Monday night, sending the 76ers to their 14th straight loss to open the season.
Wesley Matthews added 17 points, Damian Lillard had 16 and Robin Lopez chipped in 12 for Portland (11-3), which won its eighth in a row after coming back from a two-point halftime deficit.
"They came out with a lot of energy; we came out a little sluggish," Aldridge said. "They woke us up."
Their Last game: v. LAC, L 113-92 11/24/14
ESPN said:
Cody Zeller led the way for Charlotte with a career-high 17 points. Al Jefferson had 16 points and Kemba Walker 15 for the Hornets (4-11), who have lost eight of their last nine games.
Lance Stephenson, Charlotte's big free agent acquisition, was a non-factor with three points and six assists. He did not play in the fourth quarter even after Gary Neal left the game with a shoulder injury. Coach Steve Clifford said Stephenson's lack of ball movement is one of the reasons he took him out of the game.
Changes to their roster:
BasketballInsiders said:
it seems like the optimism accompanying the name change and the signing of Lance Stephenson may be a bit overboard. Some have talked about this team as a potential sleeper for the top half of the East playoff bracket, but I think they are more likely to miss the playoffs entirely than reach those heights.
Almost all of the cast is back this year, with an exchange of Josh McRoberts for Marvin Williams, Stephenson, and rookie Noah Vonleh. On a pure talent-in/talent-out basis, this is an upgrade for the Hornets. But basketball teams to not improve or decline solely on that basis, particularly teams with the weaknesses the Hornets project to have.
The Bobcats’ (past tense, still allowed to use that name) biggest weakness a season ago was the offense, in particular a lack of floor-spacing. McRoberts was an essential part of what little offense this 24th-ranked squad could muster, as he amassed a ton of touches handling the ball out top and spaced the floor with his adequate shooting from the three-point line. That was crucial to give Jefferson breathing room down low and open space for drives by Walker, especially when he shared the floor with total non-shooter Kidd-Gilchrist.
Stephenson is a better player than McRoberts, but he is also a below-average three-point shooter for a shooting guard when you consider the defensive attention he draws. Although he shoots a competent percentage, he is not enough of a threat to really deter help off him. And while Williams is a superior shooter to McRoberts, he was also a major reason Utah ranked a distant 30th on defense a year ago. If he gets major time at the four, it would be hard to imagine the defense repeating last year’s performance with he and Al Jefferson manning the power positions.
Injury Updates Portland: CJ McCollum (out). CHA: Gary Neal SG - Nov 26: Day-To-Day, P.J. Hairston SG - Nov 26: Day-To-Day, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist SF - Nov 23: Out
Matchups:
PG: Damian Lillard v. Kemba Walker (14.7ppg, 5 apg, 4.8rpg). 38% shooting, 28.6% from 3. The team as a whole is not distributing the ball well, and part of it can come from the poor shooting from the guards and the ineffectiveness of the offense outside of Al Jefferson. Kemba can light it up, but he’s been over 20 only once this season, and that was 26 on 26 shots. The Blazers will take that in a heartbeat tonight.
SG: Wesley Matthews v. Lance Stephenson (9.8ppg. 8.2rpg, 5.5 apg) Lance is putting up gaudy numbers, but his rebounding has fallen off significantly from the first couple of weeks of the season (going from averaging 11 rpg to 5rpg in his last 7) and has shot 50% from the field only once this season.
SF: Nic Batum v. Gerald Henderson (5.7ppg, 2.1rpg, 1.4apg) In the spot due to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist’s injury, Henderson (who seems like he’s been in the league a while, but is still only 26) is serviceable, and able to go for 18 as easily as he can disappear for 0 (and he has done both in the last two weeks). Nic has a big advantage here, but will probably not be called upon to exploit it much.
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge v. Marvin Williams (6.7ppg, 3.2rpg) The most exploitable matchup for the Blazers. Marvin isn’t a big threat on offense, and while he has the athleticism to hang with LMA, he cannot guard him down low. If LMA goes inside the paint, he could have another 30/10 game in him.
C: Robin Lopez v. Al Jefferson (20.7ppg, 7.5rpg) RoLo (and Kaman) will have their hands full tonight. Jefferson is one of the elite low-post scorers in the league, and a consistent 50% shooter. Figure that the Hornets will get Big Al the ball early and often, and he’ll be one of the reasons they might stay in the game.
Give-a-Rip (City) Factor—a.k.a. why you should watch: After two horrible games against horrible teams, to see if we can string a dominant win together. To see if KingSpeed made it unscathed on his Greyhound trip. To see if we can outscore the Hornets by 39 from beyond the arc like the Clippers just did to them. To see if we can get some minutes where Cody Zeller is matched up against Meyers Leonar¬_.
Current Power Rankings:
RipCityTwo (PtldPlatypus): (15) I REALLY want to like the Hornets. But ESPN has Marvin Williams listed as their starting 4. This atrocity cannot stand!
ESPN: (24) In your Biggest November Disappointment standings, Charlotte continues to be Cleveland's foremost rival. It was agony at every turn last week, starting with a 27-point home loss to Dallas and lowlighted by a 23-point blown lead to visiting Orlando on top of the road heartbreakers at Indy and Miami.
NBA.com (27) Pace: 93.5 (24), OffRtg: 98.3 (25), DefRtg: 104.3 (19), NetRtg: -6.0 (25)
The most disappointing team outside of Cleveland has lost five straight games (and seven of its last eight), blowing fourth quarter leads in each of its last three (and a 23-point lead to the Magic on Friday). The Hornets' defense is bad, their offense is worse, and there's no relief on the horizon. Their next five games are against teams with winning records.
covers.com (18) Thanks to a 1-5 road record, the Hornets are officially becoming a disappointment. Still only two wins all year that didn't come as a result of a buzzer beater.
Link to Grandpa Blaze's Prediction Game
Link to MediocreMan's Over/Under game
Links to other team’s site(s) NBA.com
http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/cha/charlotte-hornets ESPN
Final Thoughts
Blazers 115
CHA 95
- VS –
BLAZERS' GAME NOTES 
