Kemba and Nic Combine for 40 Points in the Charlotte Hornets’ Loss to Portland

Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum were the lone bright spots in the Charlotte Hornets blowout loss to the Trail Blazers in Portland.

The Charlotte Hornets suffered yet another loss putting them at five straight defeats. This loss comes at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers. The Hornets spent most of the night behind the Blazers and the final score resulted in 115-98 thrashing.

Our Player of the game is Kemba Walker. It may have felt as if we did not see enough of Kemba on the court because he sat the entire fourth, but in the game, he made some key shots to keep the Hornets within range for a chance to possibly take the lead. Walker also passed Larry Johnson on the All-Time franchise scoring list to take third place overall.

Player Grades

Kemba Walker (A-)

22 PTS 5 AST 3REBS

Walker provided a lot of playmaking while he was on the court tonight. Kemba committed two turnovers in the game, but he made up for it on the defensive end with two assists, and some great shot contesting. He also made three, threes while also being a perfect one-hundred percent from the free throw line.

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Nicolas Batum (B)

18 PTS 6 AST 8 REBS

Batum was great tonight while posting up on opposing players, as well as knocking down moving threes. Nic shot fifty percent from the field, while also knocking down four, threes. He showed off his playmaking ability tonight but also turned the ball over four times. While turning the ball over is against Coach Clifford’s ball handling philosophy, it is safe to say that Batum had a stellar night against his former team.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (D+)

5 PTS 2 AST 5 REBS

This was not the best game for the former Kentucky Wildcat. Everything seemed not to go the way Kidd-Gilchrist expecting tonight. He only made one shot from the field and got three points from the free throw line. The fouls he was called for started adding up, and it led to him receiving few minutes. Expect to see him shine in his next game against the warriors.

Marvin Williams (C+)

10 PTS 0 AST 5 REBS

Williams provided some great offensive action in the game and had a highlight dunk in the process. He only was able to make one three-point show, while missing a lot more. Marvin provided good defense as well with his shot contests.

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Roy Hibbert (C-)

2 PTS 0 AST 7 REBS

Hibbert was not played many minutes tonight, mostly because of the matchup problem he had with Mason Plumlee. Roy was not effective on the offensive end, but when he was on the court, he made is presence known with two blocks.

Ramon Sessions (C)

6 PTS 2 AST 1 REBS

In this one, Sessions made some good plays, but when it came to the fourth quarter, he committed a few careless turnovers. These turnovers led to fastbreak points for the Trail Blazers. All of his points came from the free-throw line.

Marco Belinelli (C)

6 PTS 1 AST 1 REBS

Marco didn’t have a night that filled up the stat sheet, but he did make some crazy shots on the move. He made an easy layup on the inbounds pass from Batum and also shot some moving twos as well.

Spencer Hawes (C+)

8 PTS 2 AST 4 REBs

Hawes had a stellar night for the amount of time that he was in. He had some easy shots in the game, and his passing looked good.

Frank Kaminsky (B-)

10 PTS 0 AST 1 REBS

In the fourth quarter, it seemed as if Kaminsky had come alive. He made a few shots in the beginning of the quarter. He did not make any threes in the game but did have a steal on the defensive side of the court.

Brian Roberts (B+)

8 PTS 1 AST 1 REBS

This grade might not seem like much because it had very little impact on the game, but for the six minutes he was in, he shot the ball very well. Roberts took two threes and made both of them. He also had two points from the free throw line. His effort at the end of the game may earn him a few more minutes in the regular line up.

Jeremy Lamb, Christian Wood, Treveon Graham (C-): These guys also did not have much of an effect on the game but provided good ball movement at the end of the game. Lamb was able to make a three-pointer that was assisted by Roberts. It was good to see Lamb back in action after missing 10 games and for Wood to get some playing time.

Next: MKG Plays Better in Increased Minutes

After a bad loss, look for the Charlotte Hornets to rebound from this game against their next opponents, the Golden State Warriors on February 1st. They will look to end their losing streak against one of the best team’s in the league.