Kemba’s All-Star Performance Not Enough in Charlotte Hornets’ Loss to Pistons

Everything that could go wrong, went wrong in the fourth quarter for the Charlotte Hornets as they collapsed down the stretch in Detroit.

After a week of rest for the All-Star Break, the Charlotte Hornets did not have enough in them to finish out the game against the Detroit Pistons. Throughout the whole game, it looked as if the Hornets would surely win but everything changed in the fourth quarter. This game looked very similar to the one that Charlotte played last week against the Toronto Raptors. This loss is a huge hit to the team’s morale and confidence.

Our player of the game is Kemba Walker. The All-Star point guard started this game hot and you could tell he was in all-star form. Kemba came out knocking down shots in the first quarter and making some crazy passes to open teammates. While Walker made the clutch shots in the fourth quarter, his great performance wasn’t enough to ignite the team for an overtime battle.

Kemba Walker (A+)

34 PTS 6 AST 7 REBS

Kemba got it going early in this game. He started by scoring some easy baskets and made some flashy passes to his teammates. Walker was a one-man-wrecking-crew. Towards the end of the game, Kemba made some clutch shots to possibly give the Hornets a win but the defense fell apart.

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Nicolas Batum (B+)

18 PTS 3 AST 6 REBS

Batum was a playmaker on both ends but towards the end of the game, he played some poor defense by trying to cheat on a few screens. He allowed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to get the game-tying shot at the end of the game. He was an offensive powerhouse but Nic keeps making inopportune turnovers.

Frank Kaminsky (A-)

17 PTS 2 AST 1 REBS

Kaminsky had a solid game filling in for Cody Zeller as the starting center. He made some early threes and really shut down Andre Drummond throughout the game. Frank played some good defense but he needs to work on making open shots on the offensive side. Frank’s only downfall was only grabbing one rebound. As the starting center, he needs to do a lot better on the glass.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (A)

12 PTS 2 AST 14 REBS

Kidd-Gilchrist was a machine on both sides of the floor. He made his presence felt with a couple blocks and made some good shots on offense. We need MKG to keep playing with aggressive nature if we want to see the post-season. Michael has proven to be a consistent rebounder from the small forward position.

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Marvin Williams (B+)

13 PTS 2 AST 7 REBS

Marvin did well in this game but his outside shooting was still missing. Usually, when Williams is dropping threes, the Hornets have good amounts of success. He made some important shots in the game but he needs to get back to his play of last season which we still haven’t seen on a consistent basis this year.

Marco Belinelli (C)

4 PTS 1 AST 8 REBS

Marco seemed to be missing in this game. He may have been good on the glass grabbing eight rebounds but he was not an offensive weapon. What made his night worse is the fact that he missed what would be the game-winning shot at the buzzer in regulation.

Brian Roberts (C+)

4 PTS 1 AST 2 REBS

Brian really did not get a lot of playing time to make a difference but he was efficient when he was on the court. He had some key moments but he needs to become more of an offensive weapon with Ramon Sessions out. Surprising we haven’t yet seen Ray McCallum play.

Jeremy Lamb (B-)

6 PTS 1 AST 4 REBS

Lamb made some good shots off the bench when he was in the game but we did not see that same fire that he usually brings. Jeremy is an important member of the second unit and he will have to continue igniting the bench when they are on the floor.

Mike Tobey (C)

0 PTS 1 AST 0 REBS

Did not make a huge impact in the game. Tobey looks promising as a backup center, though.

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The Hornets will need to get it together because they face Sacramento on Saturday and the LA Clippers on Sunday. The Hornets now stand 0-1 in this 6 game road trip. They will need to wake up and play some good basketball if they want to see the postseason.