Charlotte Hornets: Terry Rozier Shines in Loss to Cleveland Cavaliers

On opening night, the Charlotte Hornets could not pull off the win, but the team did have some positives.

When the Charlotte Hornets were struggling in the preseason, there were two names the Hornets could call on to get them right back in the game. Devonte’ Graham and Terry Rozier III. In the first regular-season game, things don’t look much different in that department.

The Hornets started relatively strong, going punch for punch with the Cavs in the opening quarter. At the end of the first quarter, the Hornets were trailing by one. Unfortunately, this was not the case in the second. In the second quarter alone, the Charlotte Hornets were outscored by twenty points. It’s a hard task to climb out of a twenty-one point hole at the half.

While the Hornets had a debacle of a second quarter, they turned things around midway through the third. Devonte’ Graham and Gordon Hayward would stay consistent throughout the third, but no matter what the Hornets did, the Cavs would find a way to pull away.

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Fortunately for the Hornets, they have a man named Terry Rozier, who singlehandedly kept them in the game. At the half, Rozier had a measly 6 points. He would finish the game with a career-high 42 points. Along with his career-high in points, he also had a career-high in three-pointers made, totaling out to be 10. The entire team had 16.

Rozier was 65.2% from the field, making 15 of 23, and he was a remarkable 62.5% from behind the arc, making 10 of 16. He was also 2 of 4 from the free-throw line, had two assists, two steals, and a block. The Hornets are happy to see their money paying off for them. There was a reason Charlotte signed him to a three year, 56.7 million dollar deal.

In other news, LaMelo Ball looked like a rookie, going 0 for 5 from the field and 0 for 3 from the three-point line, and Cody Zeller left the game early due to a fractured left hand he suffered in the second half.

On a more positive note, Devonte’ Graham had a double-double, and Gordon Hayward scored 28 points, going 61.1% from the field and 50% from three. Bismack Biyombo scored 11 points, and Miles Bridges continues to look more and more comfortable on the alley-oops.

It’s not the start Charlotte fans wanted, but there were a few bright spots to be happy about. Rozier looks better than ever and is looking more like the undisputed captain of the team. Hayward looked good after coming back from his injury, and Devonte’ Graham continues to look like a good combo for the 1-2 punch that is he and Terry Rozier.

The Hornets need to shake off some dust, correct some mistakes, and get ready to play on Saturday against the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder.