Tag Archives: Charlotte Hornets

Cavs RFA target likely to accept qualifying offer

Posted on by
Advertisements

There was a connection or two between the Cleveland Cavaliers and restricted free agent PJ Washington, but that now appears to be off the table. The expectation is that Washington will accept his qualifying offer and return to the Charlotte Hornets. This comes just a few days after the Cavs were mentioned as having expressed interest in the restricted free agent.

Making this work from Cleveland’s end was always going to be a bit of an obstacle. Washington would have to agree to a deal that would somewhat satisfy what he was looking for but could also fit into the Cavs’ current financial situation. The possibility of a sign-and-trade between Cleveland and Charlotte was possible. Although the Hornets may not have interest in the players Cleveland would have been willing to part with.

The reality is that PJ Washington does not fit with the current version of the Cavs. Cleveland’s route this past offseason was to add complementary players. Signing Max Strus and Georges Niang to deals that should bolster their overall roster depth. Perhaps next season, when Washington is an unrestricted free agent and after a potential trade of a certain big man, it might be able to work. But for now, Washington returning to the Hornets for this season is in his best interest. All he has to do is play well enough, and he will be able to sign that big-time free-agent contract he was looking for this summer.

Cavaliers collapse in 4th, lose to Charlotte 123-112

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Cavaliers were outscored 33-23 in the 4th quarter.

Prior to the 4th quarter the Cleveland Cavaliers were keeping things close with the Charlotte Hornets, one point even holding an 11 point lead. Unfortunately the final quarter was not friendly to the Cavs as they were outscored by 10 points as the Hornets came away with an 11 point victory.

One of the big differences in the game between the two teams was three-point shooting. Charlotte made 13 of their 32 attempts while the Cavaliers only converted nine of 31. The Cavs are not a strong shooting team by any means, but a few more makes and it is possible that this game ends up differently.

Darius Garland did not play in the contest due to an injury and Ricky Rubio took his place in the starting lineup. Rubio had a double-double with 15 points on 10 assists, performing admirably in a spot start.

Collin Sexton led the Cleveland scoring effort with 33 points. Sexton was 13-21 from the field (2-7 3PT) while also having four rebounds, 2 steal, and 1 assist. The issue with this is that the Cavaliers are going to have a hard time winning when Sexton is attempting 21 shots. Something is going to have to change in this area if the Cavs are going to take a step forward in development this season.

The Cavaliers host the Atlanta Hawks in the second game of back-to-back at 6 P.M. Saturday as they look for their first win of the season.

Cavaliers lose to Hornets in Charlotte 108-102

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Cavaliers were unable to sweep the season series with the Charlotte Hornets, losing by a score of 108-102 on the road.

It was a close battle throughout and there was even a chance for a win, but 55 points from Darius Garland Collin Sexton was not enough for the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday night as they lost to the Charlotte Hornets 108-102. This was Charlotte’s lone win against Cleveland on the year.

The issue for Cleveland in this game was that their third scoring option, Kevin Love, did not have a good night. Love went 3-11 from the floor with all of his makes coming from three-point range. While Jarrett Allen and Isaiah Hartenstein scored 15 and 10 respectively while going a combined 11-11 from the field, opponents would rather those two beat them than others on the roster. That is where the Cavaliers lack of consistent scoring threats hurt them. Even Garland and Sexton can be spotty fairly often which creates problems from time to time. If nobody else is effective from the floor that just magnifies the flaws of this roster.

The Cavaliers continue to be a team stuck in neutral. They have talent that would be quality role players on a contenting team, but also have a ton of young talent in need of improvement. Sure, SexLand can be fun when it works, but there are plenty of times where it doesn’t and the lack of depth of this roster becomes very apparent. At the end of the day, this is a team that needs to ship off the older players and continuously funnel in young talent to build around.

The Cavaliers travel to Washington for their next game to face the Wizards Sunday night.

Cavaliers look to sweep series vs. Hornets

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking to win their third and final matchup with the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center.

it could be a sweep for the Cleveland Cavaliers over the Charlotte Hornets with a win on Friday. Cleveland has won the two previous matchups between the two teams, the last matchup being a 13-point win for the Cavs. In that game Charlotte was without LaMelo Ball, Malik Monk, and Gordon Hayward. Those three will also miss this matchup making a sweep entirely possible.

The Hornets are in the playoff picture as things currently stand, but their 3-7 record over the last 10 games is proving to be a challenge. Charlotte has lost their last two games by double-digits, not necessarily a good sign. Meanwhile the Cavaliers are 4-6 in their last 10 and are still fairly outside the play-in tournament. Cleveland won their last game as they blew out the Chicago Bulls.

Neither team is particularly good in this matchup, but the Cavaliers having the majority of their players back while the Hornets are still injury riddled may play a factor in the final score. Being without essential starters seems to be too steep of a hill to climb for Charlotte.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 P.M. at the Spectrum Center

Cavaliers take down Hornets in Charlotte 103-90

Posted on by
Advertisements

The return of some key players allowed the Cleveland Cavaliers to come out on top in Charlotte against the Hornets 103-90.

In what was sort of a surprising final score the Cleveland Cavaliers ended their losing streak and came away with a win against the Charlotte Hornets. The Cavs outscored Charlotte in every quarter with the closest differential being just 1 in the 3rd. Cleveland saw the returns of some key players and that helped the team come away with a win that many predicted.

Tauren Prince led the way in the scoring department as he scored 25 points in 29 minutes off the bench. Prince made 9 of 13 shots including going 6-8 from the three-point line. Prince’s contributions certainly played a factor in the final result for Cleveland.

Jarrett Allen made his return to the starting lineup, finishing with 15. points and 8 rebounds in 30 minutes of play. Allen was not the only big man to make an impact as Kevin Love had 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists for the Cavaliers.

With Collin Sexton out, it was Darius Garland as the primary guard for Cleveland and he played incredibly well. Garland made 7 of 13 field goal attempts and had 17 points and 7 assists when it was all said and done. The Cavaliers seem to be a more cohesive unit when Garland is able to be the primary ballahandler.

Cleveland comes home for the second half of a back-to-back against the Golden State Warriors at 8:00 P.M.

Cavaliers travel to Charlotte to face Hornets

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Cavaliers return to action after a brief hiatus and will travel to Charlotte to face the Hornets at the Spectrum Center.

It was all the way back on December 23rd the last time the Cleveland Cavaliers and Charlotte Hornets met. Cleveland came out on top 121-114 in a game with Collin Sexton and Darius Garland combining for 49 points. The Cavs will be looking to duplicate their early season performance this time around.

Cleveland could get some much needed help with the possible returns of Larry Nance Jr. and Jarrett Allen. Charlotte will be without key players LaMelo Ball, Malik Monk, and Gordon Hayward. The Cavs getting back Nance and Allen could tip the scales in their favor in Charlotte.

Charlotte currently sits sixth in the Eastern Conference at 27-25 on the year while Cleveland is 19-34. Both the Hornets and Cavaliers are giving up near identical points per game (111.7-111.4). The difference between the two teams is that Charlotte’s offense scores almost seven more points per game this season (110.9-104).

The Hornets are significantly better in the three-pointers department than the Cavaliers. Charlotte ranks seventh in makes (13.9) and eighth in attempts (36.8) with Cleveland ranking dead last in both (9.6, 28.5).

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 P.M. in Charlotte.

With A Jimmmitude: Alec Bohm and Miles Bridges

Posted on by
Advertisements
Bohm still hasn’t touched home

Nothing like some controversy on Sunday Night Baseball. With the game tied in the Top of the 9th, Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm tried to tag up and score while testing the arm of Atlanta Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna. Watching the play in real time it did not seem like Bohm made it, yet he was called safe. When watching the replays it was abundantly clear that Bohm was out. The problem is that the MLB review system is broke right now, botching yet another call.

The fact of the matter is that the Atlanta Braves got screwed here. Alec Bohm never touched home. Bohm’s foot went over home and missed the plate, even his spin move he did afterward did not provide an actual touching of home.

I do not have a dog in this fight. I am not a Phillies or Braves fan, for what it is worth I do have Bohm on one of my fantasy teams so the run scored did help me, but it shouldn’t have.

Who knows what happens if the review process works correctly and Alec Bohm is determined to be out. Maybe the Braves still lose, but at least it would have been in legitimate fashion (hopefully). The fact of the matter is that the score should have been the same after this play, 6-6.

Bridges with the dunk of the year

How about some fun to get Monday started after the above nonsense from Major League Baseball. Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges came through with the dunk of the year with an absolute posterization of Atlanta’s Clint Capela. This tenacious dunk from Bridges is the best dunk I’ve seen in a long time. The mix of aggressiveness and the degree of difficulty to complete this dunk is nothing short of impressive.

The Hornets did not end up winning this game, but I am all in on more explosive dunks from Miles Bridges. Especially if they come with a throwback posterization of another player.

With A Jimmmitude: LaMelo, Pistons, Wiseman

Posted on by
Advertisements
LaMelo Ball to the Hornets

Charlotte may be one of the better landing spots for LaMelo Ball. The Hornets are a team that has a ways to go in regards to the rebuild department, but this is about some other aspects of his selection. Contrary to the first team his brother played on (the Lakers), Charlotte is not going to attract the same amount of attention as Los Angeles. This is good news not only for LaMelo, but any type of attention that his father LaVar would bring.

LaVar Ball has been pretty much off the radar for some time now. Lonzo no longer playing for the Lakers definitely has to play a factor, but it is also worth nothing that he has worn out his welcome at a wide variety of outlets. LaMelo playing in Charlotte, for a team owned by Michael Jordan, should keep any unnecessary nonsense in check. If there is anyone who can keep LaVar quiet it is “His Airness”. Additionally, we may finally get that game of 1-on-1 that we are all hoping for. Here’s hoping.

Detroit Pistons continue youth movement

If there is a team that needed a change of direction it was the Detroit Pistons. Detroit has been stuck in neutral for some time now and they began reshaping their roster last season by trading Andre Drummond to Cleveland. The Pistons took the next step in their process by adding four players through the draft (Killian Hayes, Saben Lee, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart), The youth movement is clearly in full force for Detroit and it only seems like a matter of time before they start making some more trades with other veterans on their roster.

James Wiseman to the Warriors

The second overall pick seemed to be in question right before the draft due to the recent injury to Klay Thompson. With his injury there were some who thought that Golden State would opt to select a guard in an attempt to limit the impact of Thompson’s absence. That did not come to fruition as the Warriors still ended up selecting center James Wiseman.

James Wiseman has a skill set that none of the Warriors current stars have, the skill set of a big man. This addition will give their offense a dimension that they did not have previously. The Warriors should be able to balance their usual three-point barrage with a presence down low, giving them an offensive attack that will be the envy of the league.

With or without Thompson, Wiseman should be a productive for Golden State. Wiseman does not have to be a star, unlike many other players selected near the top of the draft. All Wiseman needs to be is a secondary or even tertiary option for Golden State. The Warriors will be able to ease him in nicely and let him adapt to the NBA game on a timeframe that should not be impede his development.