One Flew Over the Hornets' Nest - a Charlotte Hornets Dynasty

[vinaa23]

What the does the future hold for the Charlotte Hornets?

Last season was one of expectations: the team finally left the Bobcats in their past (good riddance) to once again become the fan-favourite Hornets. The Bobcats last whisper, though, was a good season. They signed Al Jefferson in the free agency before the season started and surprisingly won 42 games after winning 7 and 21 in the previous two seasons.
Everybody thought the next season had no way out but up for the rebranded Hornets. Expectations were even higher when they brought the budding star Lance Stephenson from the Indiana Pacers. The Hornets seemed to be solidifying their position as playoff team, an important step if the team wanted to develop as contenders in the rising Eastern Conference.
Well, it all went wrong. The Stephenson signing was a fluke. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the former #2nd overall pick, started to finally develop his offensive abilities properly, but was plagued by injuries and played just 55 games. With the duo of Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson carrying the team, they regressed to just 33 wins, finishing as the 11th seed in the East.
Now, with new faces such as Nicolas Batum and Jeremy Lin, can the Hornets get back on track?

[vinaa23]

About the dynasty:

Game: NBA 2k16
System: PS4
Difficulty: Simulation All-Star

I downloaded rosters from the beginning of the season (I like it more) and this year's draft class will also be downloaded. From 2016-17 and onwards I'll be using 2k's fictional classes.

I'll do a month-by-month approach as usual. I'll play the opening game of the season, every divisional contest and the last game.

I won't be controlling every team, just the Hornets. Even if I'm a sucker for realism, I kinda like the sheer randomness that the CPU brings. I'm with trade approval on just to avoid some pathetic scenarios like the Lakers trading 03 role players for Lebron James (although, stopping and thinking about it... they totally could pull this off in real life)

As usual, I'll ask for you to forgive me for some spelling/gramatical errors as English isn't my primary language.

That's it. Now, forward with the thread.

[vinaa23]

Team Roster

Charlotte Hornets 2015-16 Roster
#	NAME	POS	AGE	HT	WT	SALARY
15	Kemba Walker	PG	25
7	Jeremy Lin	PG	27
22	Brian Roberts	PG	29
3	Jeremy Lamb	SG	23
30	Troy Daniels	SG	24
4	Elliot Williams	SG	26
14	Michael Kidd-Gilchrist	SF	22
5	N. Batum	SF	26
19	P. J. Hairston	SF	22
40	Cody Zeller	PF	23
2	Marvin Williams	PF	29
50	Tyler Hansbrough	PF	29
25	Al Jefferson	C	30
00	Spencer Hawes	C	27
44	Frank Kaminsky	C	22

[vinaa23]

Monthly Preview - October 2015

Habemus Basketball! Finally, the long wait is over as the new season will finally begin with the Pistons and the Hawks facing each other at Philips Arena.
For us here in Charlotte, this "month" (week is better) already features two divisional contests as we'll go on a trip that will take us to Miami where the Wade-Bosh duo from the Miami Heat await us. Although Miami isn't the same juggernaut that it was when Lebron was there (of course), they'll be playing with a chip on their shoulders after missing the playoffs last season. Gerald Green, the human videogame, was brought in and will help them with this quest, but their main question mark is Bosh's health after he lost a lot of playing time last season with blood clots.
Afterwards, we'll go to Georgia to face the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks had arguably the best season in their history last year, winning 60 games and going all the way to the conference finals, where they were swept by the Cavaliers. They have nice assets within their team such as their "Big Three" of Teague, Millsap and Horford. Throw in Korver's sharpshooting abilities and you have a nice core. They'll surely be looking to reproduce last season's success and we must be careful with them.

[vinaa23]

Rusty Hornets blown by Heat


82 @ 105

MIAMI, Oct 28 2015 - The Hornets kicked off their season with the wrong foot as they lost by twenty-three points to fellow Southeasternes from Miami.

Sloppy play and poor shooting were the name of the game for the visitors. Although Kemba Walker was the team's top scorer with nineteen points, he failed to provide the usual spark as he made just three of his nine three point attempts. He also finished 8-17 from the field, but what hurt his team the most were his nine turnovers.

"It's the first game of the season. I wasn't feeling it, but we still have 81 games to go. I'll leave this one behind me and make sure I play better from now on." - said Walker

Walker was responsible for nine of the Hornets' sixteen giveaways. Alone, he finished with more turnovers than the entire Heat squad as they combined for 8.

Another problem for the Hornets was the play inside. Miami's frontcourt combo of Bosh and Whiteside had their way on the Hornets' paint, while Al Jefferson's famed footwork and offensive abilities struggled against Whiteside's stiffling defense.

This is made evident by the difference between offensive rebounds: two for the Hornets, fourteen for the Heat. In several possessions, the Hornets played good defense just to see it all go to waste as Whiteside, Bosh or even Stoudemire and Andersen grabbed the ball after the miss. Even if they finished with more blocks, the Hornets' team is built with a frontcourt that spaces the court rather than closing it in and defending the paint.

The Good: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist gave signs that he can be the Hornets' go-to-guy on the offense as he is on the defense. He finished with a stuffed stat-line of 12 Points, 6 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 3 Steals and 2 Blocks on 6-9 shooting. If he can develop a consistent three pointer, he can be one of the biggest all-around threats of the league.

The Bad: The Hornets made just five three-pointers the entire game, making just 25% from beyond the arc as they shot it 20 times.

The Ugly: As another proof of Miami's dominance in the paint, they finished with 70 points from inside while Charlotte had just 40


Box Score









Player of the Game: Chris Bosh
Up next: the Hornets go to Atlanta to face the Hawks while the Heat pays a visit to their former star Lebron James in Cleveland.

[vinaa23]

Greg Monroe lost for season. Blake Griffin sidelined.

In a long season such as the NBA's, injuries happen quite often and everyone knows that.

It doesn't make it less heartbreaking when a player goes down with a season-ending injury. It's even worse when the player was in his first game with his new team.

Greg Monroe, 25, was a high profile free agent this summer. Pursued by several teams, he decided to join the Milwaukee Bucks over the New York Knicks. Ironically, his first game with the Bucks was against the Knicks.
The Bucks won (in embarassing fashion) 146-109, but lost Monroe for season as he torn his left achilles tendon
"It just sucks. We wait a lot for a new season, prepare our bodies and minds and a thing like that happens? Well... I have no words" - said Monroe.


Another one who's bound to lose a long time is Los Angeles Clippers' star Blake Griffin. The highflying power forward picked up a spinal injury and will be out for 4-6 months.
Griffin came to the social media to vent his frustration:
"Caught a tough game in practice. What can I do? Gonna be watchin' from the sidelines for a while #bummer"


Steph Curry, Alec Burks and Kyle Korver also picked up some injuries, but minor ones. They'll continue to play through them.

[vinaa23]

Hornets' comeback falls short in Atlanta


96 @ 105

ATLANTA, Oct 30 - It was a close battle at the Philips Arena until the Hornets (0-2) slipped. It happened by the middle of the third quarter and made it possible for the Hawks (2-1) to open a 14-point lead already in the fourth frame.

That huge lead almost meant nothing as the visitors refocused and trimmed the lead down to two points with little more than four minutes remaining. Charlotte, though, couldn't complete the comeback as the Hawks defense tighted itself up and didn't allow anything.

One might say they had a little help from the refs as Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had the ball with a chance to tie. It seemed like an open look until Tim Hardaway Jr came flying out of nowhere. His body bumped against Gilchrist's and the trajectory of the shot was clearly changed, but the whistle never came. Gilchrist proteste, to no effect. It was made worse when, right on the next play, the refs called him for a shooting foul.

"I don't know, man... Their guy throws his entire body on me, knocking me on the floor and they don't see anything. I barely touch one of his nails and there goes the whistle" - said MKG after the game

No one can say it did affect the game's score or say the Hornets would have won if the call was made, but it seemed to change momentum to the home side as their lead once again grew after the play.

"I cannot say much, y'all know that. But, if this game was in Charlotte, I don't think this would happen at all" - completed Batum.

Nicolas Batum was a huge part as why the Hornets managed to get back to this game. He and Al Jefferson knocked big shot after big shot to trim the Hawks' lead, but the team failed to capitalize on the momentum built by them.

For the home side, Jeff Teague had a great outing with 23 points and 9 assists. He was selected as player of the game. Tim Hardaway made a bit of everything, finishing with 10 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists.

The Good: Kemba Walker showed that last game was just an isolated occurence. He once again finished with 19 points, but had only one turnover this time.

The Bad: Speaking of giveaways, the Hornets had just 6 of them this time. And half of them came from Cody Zeller, who started at the four. Zeller finished with 4 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks and 3 turnovers on 20 minutes of playing time

The Ugly: Once again, the Hornets finished 5-20 from beyond the arc. In today's NBA, that's not enough.







Player of the Game: Jeff Teague (ATL)
Up Next: Both teams face each other again 2 days from now, this time in Charlotte.

[vinaa23]

Monthly Preview - November 2015

The first month - week - of the season one of losses for us as we dropped the two games we played. Of course, nobody likes to lose, but these losses weren't unexpected as they came against better teams and on their homes. Now, we get back to Charlotte for our first home game of the season against the same Atlanta Hawks that just defeated us. Two days later we pay hosts for Jimmy Butler and the Chicago Bulls before embarking on a western road trip that will start in Texas, where we face the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs. The trip ends with a bout against first pick Karl Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Then, we face the Bulls again and the Portland Trail Blazers, two games that are sandwiched by contests against Atlantic Division teams as we play the New York Knicks twice, the Brooklyn Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers. The latter two are in our home grounds, beginning a home stand that will last through the end of the month. In this sequence we'll pay hosts to the Sacramento Kings, Washington Wizards, Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks

Prediction: 7 wins in 15 games
Games I'll play: vs. Hawks, vs. Wizards