In NBA, it takes 3 superior players to win. Hornets have 1. Maybe.
The Charlotte Hornets have one problem. Theirs is not a playoff roster. I wrote that weeks ago, and wanted to be wrong. NBA playoff basketball is one of the great spectacles in sports. Even if the Hornets somehow claim the eighth seed and open against the Cleveland Cavaliers, I’ll hang on those games. If you’ve watched NBA playoff basketball, you understand.
When Charlotte won at Denver at March 4 and followed it with a victory against Indiana at home, there was hope. But back in Charlotte, the Hornets came undone. They lost two straight at home. They lost in overtime Saturday to the New Orleans Pelicans, who had lost six of eight. They lost Monday to the Chicago Bulls, which had lost five straight and six of seven.
The Hornets get Kemba Walker every night and don’t know who their second star will be. The theory in the NBA is that a team needs three superior players to win. Many nights, the Hornets have only one.
On March 24, Cleveland comes to town. That’s as close to the playoffs as the Hornets will get.
Tom Sorensen is a retired Charlotte Observer columnist. Sign up for his newsletter, and follow him on Twitter: @tomsorensen
More from this issue of the Tom Talks newsletter:
[FOR 89 REASONS: Welcome back to the Panthers, Captain Munnerlyn. Tom Sorensen owes you a drink.]
[NCAA BRACKET: Selections this year rely on instinct, and teams nicknamed ‘Wildcats’]
[A RUN OF SUCCESS: Panthers fill almost every need in free agency, setting up ... disappointment?]
[BOXED IN: Kyle Busch-Joey Logano flyweight fight put NASCAR in conversation with heavyweights]
[SORENSEN CLASSIC: Remember NFL holdouts? Panthers pick staged the least effective ever]
This story was originally published March 15, 2017 at 9:47 AM.