By Sam Perley
- Charlotte Hornets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (Spectrum Center)
- Saturday, Dec. 26 at 7 PM EST
- Fox Sports Southeast, FOX Sports GO App and WFNZ 610 AM or 102.5 FM
- Last time out: Oklahoma City won, 104-102, in OT on Dec. 27, 2019 (at Charlotte)
Rozier, Hayward Shine on Opening Night, But Hornets Need More Elsewhere
Terry Rozier (career-high 42 points on 10-of-16 shooting from three) and Gordon Hayward (28 points and seven assists) each recorded outstanding performances in Wednesday night’s season-opening road loss to Cleveland, but the Hornets didn’t get much else from the rest of the rotation. Balanced production was more often than not, Charlotte’s go-to recipe for success last season: “Terry and Gordon, I thought really played well tonight, but we need other guys to step up as well,” said Head Coach James Borrego after the loss to the Cavaliers.
Charlotte’s Rebounding Challenges Get Trickier with Zeller Injury
Charlotte lost the battle on the boards to Cleveland by a crushing 50-32 margin and also allowed 62 points in the point. To make matters worse, Cody Zeller suffered a fractured left hand in the loss and is now out indefinitely, likely pushing Bismack Biyombo into the starting unit. Whether it’s playing more PJ Washington at the five or utilizing rookie big men Nick Richards and Vernon Carey Jr. more, the Hornets absolutely need to figure out how to bring a more physical presence on defense, particularly in the frontcourt with Zeller sidelined for the foreseeable future.
Oklahoma City’s Offseason Overhaul
Oklahoma City made a flurry of roster moves this offseason, parting ways with Chris Paul, Steven Adams and Danilo Gallinari and retaining just Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and few other rotational players from last year’s playoff squad. The Thunder also added two international players in the draft in lengthy Serbian-Greek center Aleksej Pokuševski and French guard Théo Maledon and traded for vets Al Horford and George Hill. The organization’s eyes are on the long-term future, but OKC brings a unique mixture of size, skill, experience and to an extent, unfamiliarity to tonight’s matchup.
Preview Quote
“For us, going back to the Cleveland game, we stopped having fun. We’ve been having fun in all of our preseason games and I think we’re going to focus on that going into the next game. I look forward to that and whatever challenges we have to face, we’re all in it together. We’re playing against a good team [tonight] and we have to get back to doing what we do.” – Bismack Biyombo
Final Thoughts
Rebounding and paint protection were already going to be challenging areas for the Hornets this season and the Zeller injury is simply going to force others to step up sooner than later. If Charlotte can bring the same amount of urgency tonight as it did in the second half of the Cleveland game, the squad will be in great position for its inaugural victory of the campaign.
Additional Notes
Oklahoma City’s season opener on Wednesday night in Houston was postponed because of COVID-19 contract tracing within the Rockets organization… F Trevor Ariza (not with team), G Théo Maledon (not with team) and G Ty Jerome (left ankle sprain) were listed as out for Oklahoma City prior to the postponement… The Hornets have not started a season with an 0-2 record since 2015-16 (started 0-3; also the team’s most recent playoff berth)… Charlotte has lost four straight to the Thunder and each of the last three meetings at Spectrum Center.