Working in their favor is a remaining schedule against mostly lower-ranked teams of the weaker league, their own, the Eastern Conference. But lose those games, or most of them, and forget it. The bugs will be watching the playoffs from the luxury of their favorite armchairs.
Nine of the Hornets’ last 16 games are against teams whose records are similar to their own — Indiana (twice), Washington, Toronto and Miami (twice) — or worse (Cleveland, Atlanta and Chicago).
How will they respond? Will they fall back in the pack or seize the opportunity to pass the competition and lock up a playoff spot? One of the Hornets’ biggest problems all year has been putting together win streaks. Their longest run of victories — four — came in the first 30 days of the season, from October 22 to November 2. Contrast that with last year, when the Hornets wove a pair of seven-game win streaks into a season that otherwise was much like this one to date — win a couple, lose a couple.
The Hornets may be able to overcome inconsistency down the stretch now that they are playing with the starting line-up that got them to the playoffs last year — Baron Davis, David Wesley, Jamal Mashburn, P.J. Brown and Elden Campbell. Injuries have precluded that starting rotation most of the season.
Most notably, Jamal Mashburn, last year’s team leader and top scorer, didn’t play until February 18 because of a lower abdominal strain. His up-and-down play since his return is understandable, given the physical demands of the league. But now that he’s been back for over a month, he needs to rise to the level of performance that propelled the Hornets to the playoffs in 2001.
This season, the onus of leadership has been on point guard Baron Davis, and he has stepped up mightily. If he hadn’t, at this point the Hornets would only be pondering where they’ll be playing next year, not figuring out a strategy to reach the playoffs.
Not only has Davis earned his stripes as the team’s court director, he’s pumped up his offensive production to a career-high level. He’s led the team in scoring most of the season, but now is running neck-and-neck with Mashburn for offensive honors. Last season, Davis averaged 13.8 points a game. Compare that with 19.1 this season, going into a March 13 game at Los Angeles. With Mashburn’s average of 20.8 points at the same juncture, their collective firepower give the Hornets a one-two scoring punch they lacked last year.
While Davis needs to maintain his point production down the stretch, it’s his leadership that’s going to get the severest test. He has climbed the mountain of establishing himself as the floor general, but he’s never had as much on the line as he will over the next several weeks. The third-year pro out of UCLA needs to help the Hornets rediscover the chemistry of late last season — when they won their last four games in the regular season, pummeled Miami in the first playoff round and took Milwaukee to seven games in the second.
“B. D.,” as Davis is known to many, holds great promise in meeting the test. He doesn’t back down. From growing up on the rough streets of South Central Los Angeles to reaching the finals of a celebrity round of The Weakest Link, he doesn’t rattle. He’s doesn’t even mind if pro wrestler Ric Flair makes fun of him in a TV commercial. That takes a strong constitution, especially when thousands of fans at games yell “Woo!” mimicking Davis in the commercial.
Do Davis and Mashburn get along, especially now that Davis has supplanted Mashburn’s role as team leader? I haven’t seen any evidence they don’t. I just know they need a tight relationship with lots of good communication if the Hornets are going to make the playoffs. Mashburn is a spectacular forward who led the Hornets to the post-season last year and has the big, long-term contract. Davis is the young star who has spearheaded the team in Mashburn’s absence and is on track to become one of the top point guards in the league. What a powerful combination. The Hornets need to draw from that wattage as well as from the other starters and subs Lee Nailon, Jamaal Magloire and Bryce Drew. Nailon’s emergence as a scorer during Mashburn’s absence is a key reason the Hornets are still in the playoff race.
One of Davis’s biggest challenges will be gearing up the Hornets to hold off teams in the final minutes of games. Kobe Bryant’s buzzer-beater to top the Hornets 96-94 on February 22 is the poster child for this team’s problem. The Hornets led most of the way that night in front of a loud sellout crowd in Charlotte, but let their edge slip away to Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers in the waning minutes. After that, the Hornets lost four of their next six games, falling by an average of three points in the losses.
Encouraging, though, was an 88-82 victory over Phoenix on March 10, where the Hornets fended off the Suns down the stretch. Was that an omen for the future? Have Davis, Mashburn and their colleagues begun finding the chemistry to make the playoffs for the third consecutive year? If they can stave off opponent comebacks, stay healthy, get consistent play from Mashburn, and draw off fearless and firm-handed leadership from Davis — that should do it. They’ve got the talent. It’s simply a matter of tapping it and keeping their hands on the wheel.
Overtime
Venus and Serena Williams may be at Olde Providence Racquet Club April 27-28 for the Federation Cup, the women’s equivalent of the Davis Cup. They like playing for their country and have in the past. Other likely players are Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati. We’ll know the US team by mid-April. For tickets, call 888-334-8782 . . . Capriati and Seles have committed to play in Charleston the week before at The Family Circle Cup . . .UNC-Charlotte will broadcast the audio for 49ers baseball games over Channel 22 on the Time Warner and Adelphia cable systems for Iredell and Mecklenburg counties and southwestern Union County. The broadcasts will include home games and selected away games, as well as Charlotte’s games in the Conference USA tournament . . . Not only is Duke’s Mike Dunleavy one of the most well-rounded college basketball players I’ve ever seen, it’s refreshing that he’s not a chest-beating, fist-pumping type . . .Speaking of Duke, an Associated Press story on its women’s basketball team tells how Coach Gail Goestenkors has dealt with two players who transferred unexpectedly early this season. “Things are changing now,” observes Goestenkors, who won Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year honors after her team went undefeated in the ACC. “The student athletes aren’t as willing to work and wait as they were five or 10 years ago. It’s a fast-food society. What’s in it for me today? We all need to be able to adjust.” . . .In another women’s basketball note, Coach Chris Weller retired March 5 as head coach at Maryland after 27 years. Her teams in the late 70s and early 80s were among the best in the country . . . So who will the next Florida State men’s basketball coach be? Even though Bobby Lutz has a nice contract package at UNC-Charlotte, will he be a candidate? … The 100 Black Men of Greater Charlotte’s 10th Annual Spring Tennis Tournament is April 4-7 at Renaissance’s Jeff Adams Tennis Center. Entry deadline is March 29. Call 704-375-7300 for more information. *
This article appears in Mar 20-26, 2002.
