Won 5 out of 5, the Hornets find a positive balance

This Tuesday, the Hornets did host the Mavericks Sans Cooper Flagg, with the goal of achieving a fifth consecutive success. Charlotte leads the debates from the first minutes thanks to her well-established attack in which everyone engages, including Moussa Diabate (7 points, 8 rebounds), sent to the “alley-oop” twice. If Dallas stays in touch early, Jason Kidd’s defense sinks under 3-point bombs, especially those Brandon Miller (17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists).

On the other side of the court, it doesn’t get much better than this missed dunk Daniel Gafford (31-20). However, Dallas eventually equalized thanks to PJ Washington which goes to six points in a row, but Charlotte’s answer is authoritarian with 9-0 including “and one” by Moussa Diabate (42-33).

Despite a number of turnovers by the home side, the Texans didn’t rally as Charles Lee’s men continued to be adept from long range, as evidenced by this tricky stepback on the leg. LaMelo Ball (15 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists) attempted against Dwight Powell. When she enters the locker room, Charlotte leads 57 to 48.

After the break, the Hornets kept their foot off the gas and the 3-point shots continued to fall. LaMelo Ball continues but joins him Con Knueppel, Grant Williams or even Zion James. The latter connects two prize baskets and Charlotte takes off (92-70). After shining on 3-pointers, the Hornets relied on their big players for a while. To score the point, LaMelo Ball sent Moussa Diabate into the alley-oop. It is not surprising that Dallas did not recover and logically lost 90:117.

WHAT TO REMEMBER

The crux of the matter is the 3-point shot. During the success against the Blazers, the Hornets were thrilled to win despite an ineffective attack. Against Dallas, the opposite happened, despite the absence Coby White. From the first minutes, Charles Lee’s men are skilled and that skill never leaves them. If Brandon Miller is successful, he will be followed by the especially skilled duo of Grant Williams and Zion James behind the arc. Overall, the Hornets made 20 of 51 attempts from distance against a poor 3/22 for Dallas.

Dallas next to its basketball. Clumsiness at the 3-point range wasn’t Dallas’ only concern in this matchup as the Texans were never able to capitalize on their game. Jason Kidd’s men lost a total of 14 balls and the spinners failed to reverse the trend. Apart from the good performances of Dwight Powell, who finished with 12 points, none of the members of the Texas “second unit” shone, unlike the Hornets, who finished the game with eight players with at least ten points.

The Hornets have conceded five of five. With this success, Charlotte has the fifth win in a row and finds a balanced and even positive record with 31 wins and 31 losses. In the standings, the Hornets are now ninth in the East. LaMelo Ball’s teammates can start dreaming of a top 6 even if they still have a long way to go to hope to tickle the Sixers (33-28).

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How to read statistics? Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / attempt 3 points; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive jump; T = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = point difference when the player is on the court; Points = Points; Rating: player rating calculated based on positive actions – negative actions.