Charlotte Hornets: 3 Takeaways from win vs. Cleveland

It’s been tough, but the Charlotte Hornets are off to a 2-0 start to begin the season. Charlotte gets a good win against a resilient Cleveland Cavaliers team, 123-112.

Charlotte Hornets: 3 Takeaways from win vs. Cleveland

Yet another slow start from the Hornets forced them to be in this game a bit longer than they were probably anticipating. The Cavaliers were without their young star guard, Darius Garland, but that didn’t stop Collin Sexton and this young Cleveland team from making this competition until the fourth quarter.

Cleveland’s unique three-big lineup, featuring Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and Lauri Markkanen gave Charlotte fits as they struggled to get going early.

Terry Rozier who’s been nursing an ankle injury featured in his first game of the season tonight and never quite got going. He finished with just 6 points, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds in 23 minutes. He appeared to have injured his right ankle (not the same ankle) at the end of the game so hopefully, he doesn’t have to miss more time and can get back in a groove.

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter when LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, and Gordon Hayward got to start cooking to secure the win in this game. Bridges especially led the way as he finished with 30 points and 7 rebounds.

For the second straight game, Charlotte needed a lot of help from their veteran members of the bench to help keep this game in a manageable position. Kelly Oubre Jr. was second on the team in points scored with 25 and was critical when Cleveland started to go on runs early on in the game.

Cody Martin looked to be a much-improved player who performed very well on the defensive end of the ball and made some big-time plays on the offensive end to help the Hornets pull away.