Hornets vs Celtics

After Kyrie Irving dropped 50 on us last night, I considered this game to be a must-win for the Hornets if we were going to stay alive in making the push for a playoff spot.

From the jump, our energy was off. First of all, there were more Celtics fans in the building than the Hornets, and considering that it was a home game for the Hornets that was a problem. The only energy that was being exerted from the court and the stands was from Boston. This is one of the most frustrating things about my city being a melting pot. I want packed stands with packed Hornets fans. When I come to a home game it should be a sea of blue and teal.

The Hornets did relatively stay with the C’s, and at one point in the first were up 21 – 19. But with 3:18 left in the first, when we had that lead, to 9:35 in the second quarter, the Celtics went on a 20 – 3 run, and from that point on we were playing catch up once again.

Celtics star Jayson Tatum went crazy again and completely carried his team. He finished with 44 points on only 8 missed shots. Tatum now has 85 combined points in two games played in Charlotte this season.

It’s pretty hard to give a player of the game for this game because no one played great. PJ Washington did have 17 points thanks to the 42 minutes he ran. He went completely ghost mode in the second half though, despite playing almost every minute. In my opinion, I think we can learn from the way the Celtics play. They completely turned around their defense from earlier this season and are now 17 – 3 in their last 20 games.

The Hornets are starting to fall apart. We are a very young team and our main veteran presence, Gordon Hayward, is hurt. Games like these are games we have to win if we have any shot at the playoffs, but it just seems as if we have no interest in winning them. Slow starts followed by a lack of enthusiasm aren’t going to win games, or convert these fans.

We have a relatively easy schedule these next few weeks so we have to take advantage. It is imperative to win or our playoff hopes will be crushed.