The Charlotte Hornets last trip out West left the team reeling after losing every game. However, the Hornets have a chance to redeem themselves on their current trip.
The West Coast. A place known for palm trees, gangsta rap, and surfing. Along with being a destination for wannabe actors and wannabe celebrities, the lauded West Coast has been a defining moment for many contending Eastern Conference teams.
Every year, each Eastern Conference team must go on a daunting trip to the western part of the nation, usually playing 4 or 5 games against Western Conference foes. This road trip can be a defining moment for these teams. If they play well, they get confidence on their return to Old America; the East. If they do poorly, their dreams die in the West, along with countless fortune-seekers of yesteryear.
To put it rather blunt, the Charlotte Hornets last West Coast adventure was awful. In fact, it was a disaster. They started off by playing the Warriors at the Oracle Arena, which is a near impossible victory. To be fair, the Hornets played really well that game and very well could have won.
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The next game, the Charlotte Hornets traveled to Phoenix to take on the Suns. Following an inspiring performance against the Dubs, one could think that the Hornets could beat the reeling Suns. But this was not the case, and Charlotte lost by nine to a bad Suns team.
The two closing games of the first Western trip were the Clippers and the Nuggets. The trip ended in disappointment, and the team returned to the East Coast as losers.
On a brighter note, let’s look at the Charlotte Hornets current West coast trip.
It started on Monday night, with a double overtime victory over the Kings in Sacramento, in which Troy Daniels paced Charlotte with 28 points. For the Kings, DeMarcus Cousins but up an impressive 56 points in a losing effort. This was the type of game that the Hornets would have lost on the previous West Coast trip. First of all, they got off to a bad start, in which they were down by 15 at the end of the first quarter. The team came back by shooting the three-ball masterfully, making 20 threes throughout the game. A heck of a start to a critical stretch for the squad.
One of the reasons why I believe that the Charlotte Hornets can succeed on this West Coast trip is due to their opponents.
On this Western excursion, Charlotte is playing Utah, Portland and the Lakers. All of these teams have had their fair share of struggles throughout the year, and are all really young teams. Also, in all of the games in which these teams played the Hornets in Charlotte, the Hornets came out victorious. Charlotte should be licking their lips while looking at these opponents.
On this trip the Hornets are avoiding the big boys of the Western Conference, and miss out on playing Golden State, the Clippers and San Antonio. They should view this trip as an opportunity to right the wrongs of their previous Western road trip, by possibly even going undefeated and returning to the conversation for the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Another of the reasons why this road trip will be filled with success for the Charlotte Hornets is the rise of Kemba Walker. Since January 18th, Kemba has been averaging nearly 35 points an outing. This point output has been critical to the Hornets current three game winning streak. Kemba has put the team on his back and led them to victories over the Magic and the Knicks.
At the moment, Walker’s confidence should be through the roof, and he should be motivating and propelling the team to achieve success on this trip. With the absence of Nicolas Batum, Cody Zeller, Al Jefferson and MKG, Kemba has needed to step up to fill their lofty standards, and he has filled in admirably. What can’t go unnoticed is the play of Jeremy Lin and Spencer Hawes. Both of these guys started the year on the bench and are now starters. They have succeeded in playing really well for the team and have contributed baskets during clutch times in games.
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Based on the start that the Hornets got in Sacramento on Monday night, it is easy to become optimistic and think that the Charlotte Hornets are going to go undefeated on this trip. Although I think it is possible, I wouldn’t get too confident in that undefeated record. Charlotte’s opponents are going to be rearing to go against the Hornets based on past results.
If the Charlotte Hornets succeed on this road trip, it will be a testament to what this team is as a whole. The “next man up” mentality is widely prevalent on this team. When stars such as Al Jefferson, MKG and Nic Batum went down, the next guy stepped up and performed really well. For this current team with all of the injuries to be in a spot of competition in the Eastern Conference is a reflection of the coaching staff and Steve Clifford and the grit that this team displays on a nightly basis.
Next: Troy Daniels Has Earned Playing Time
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