The Charlotte Hornets had a nice long All-Star break and it showed on Friday night. They took on the Toronto Raptors, who previously beaten them two straight times, and slaughtered them 125-93.
Everything was going right for the Hornets on both sides of the ball. They finally found their stroke from deep again, shooting 38 percent. On the opposite end, they held the Raptors to 26 percent. The emphasis was clearly on the defensive side of the ball. They held both Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam to eight points a piece. They carried out their game plan tonight and the credit has to go to the Hornets' veterans.
Terry Rozier finished with 23 points and nine assists, while Montrezl Harrell chipped in with 20 points and 10 rebounds. The old Louisville sluggers were holding down the fort, communicating on defense, and did all the little things damn near perfect. This was only Harrell's fifth game with the Hornets, but he already fits right in. He talked about his fit with the Hornets after the game.
“I just play my role honestly. It's been like that everywhere I've been in my career. I just use all the tools other veterans gave to me and try to help these young guys get to a place of playoff basketball.”
In those five games Harrell has played with Charlotte, he is averaging 18 points a game off the bench. He has instantly meshed with the Hornets other star bench player, Kelly Oubre Jr., who finished with 23 points of his own. Those two both act as human torches and energy off the bench. Harrell has some of the best intangibles in the league. He seems to fit pretty much everywhere he goes, seamlessly even.
When he was asked if he knew he would fit with this team when he was traded, he gave a detailed response.
“Honestly, yeah. I've played with some of the best players this league has to offer. I've been on teams with Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and LeBron James. I could list more guys that are top-10 players and greats in our game. I've gelled well with everyone of them. Every place is different, but I do what the team needs from me.”
That is the definition of a leader. Anytime he was given the opportunity to shine, he has taken it and ran. His situation in Charlotte is no different. Sure the team is one of the younger groups he's been around, but they're also super talented. All his young teammates are receptive and have had nothing but positive things to say about Harrell since being traded to this team before the deadline.
Anyway, the Hornets won a key game against a team that is still currently above them in the Eastern Conference playoff standing. They have a lot of ground to cover to get to that highly coveted sixth seed to avoid the play-in tournament. This is a good start though. Overall, the team seems like the break has done them wonders. Rozier chimed in a little bit about that topic in the post game presser:
“I can say that we were wall tired, but so was everybody in the NBA. There's no excuses. It's good for us to get a reset over the break. I got my mind off basketball. I didn't even touch a basketball. I knew it would make me miss it & that I'll come back and play the way I did.”
Hopefully, this squad has enough juice in the tank to win enough games to claw their way into the postseason. They have another game on Sunday against the Detroit Pistons. That is certainly a winnable game for this team to gain some momentum and string together a win streak. They will need every game they can get.
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