Hornets vs Mavericks Quick Recap

The Dallas Mavericks brought their top-ranked offense into Charlotte and showed just how dangerous they can be, shooting 51.2% from the floor, including 10 3-pointers. But even that undersells how thoroughly the Mavericks controlled every aspect of the game against the Hornets.

The Mavericks won the rebounding battle 50-35, had 32 assists to the Hornets 22, and 7 steals to the Hornets sole 1 by Brian Roberts. The Hornets did match the Mavericks in 3-pointers, hitting 10 of their own, and even had a higher 3FG%, but shot miserably from inside the arc, which is an odd trend for the Hornets. They shot 22 of 58 from 2-point land – under 38%.

Al Jefferson had one of his worst games of the young year, going 3-12 and struggling against the defensive length of Mavericks big men Tyson Chandler and Brandan Wright.

Gerald Henderson got the starting nod tonight and showed that he is sick of sitting on the bench, shooting 8-14 and scoring a team-high 18 points. He even took two 3-pointers, hitting one of them. If he shows willingness to take those shots – and can actually hit them at a league-average rate – he will become a useful piece for the Hornets moving forward.

The Hornets really missed Michael Kidd-Gilchrist’s pick-and-roll defense and Gary Neal’s shot creation on the other end. This home loss is certainly disheartening for fans, but the most important thing moving forward will be getting guys fully healthy and actually getting a chance to develop some chemistry among the main rotation.

Some good news to end… Noah Vonleh’s first NBA points!!!