Charlotte Hornets blast Orlando Magic 121-81

Like a Divine Beast excavated from the ground to destroy a great calamity, the Charlotte Hornets demolished the Orlando Magic. At no point was this game ever in doubt for the Hornets. They jumped out to an early lead and once they hit double digits it should have been called on the spot. The Magic were never a great basketball team, but they can be scrappy and the Hornets never gave them a chance. Charlotte made a bad team look horrendous.

The Hornets were quick and lethal in their offensive sets. Orlando ran under screens in the pick and roll leaving the Hornets space to work from deep. Kemba Walker made use of that space on the way to a team leading five 3-pointers. He set the tone and even let some of his shooting rub off on to Brian Roberts. Easily his best game of the season, Roberts finished with 12 points and really stabilized the usually inconsistent bench unit. When he plays like that it makes the Hornets a much stronger team.

Charlotte’s biggest advantage the entire night was their offensive execution. All the Hornets had to do was run a set play and the Magic responded like they had never seen anything like it before. The Hornets constantly sliced through the Magic defense and created wide open looks. It wasn’t anything overly complicated either. Simple stuff like making the extra pass left Orlando on their heels. It was an embarrassing defensive display on the part of the Magic.

The star of the game though was Marvin Williams. Pulling down a career high 18 rebounds, Williams was a force to be reckoned with the entire night. He frustrated Aaron Gordon on defense and threw down one of the greatest dunks of the season. Hornets fans that still love and miss Bismack Biyombo may want to look away. The following video is graphic and should not be watched in front of children.

It was nice getting to see Biyombo’s entire career, but after Williams did this he’ll have no choice but to retire. It was long, fruiful, and he’ll forever be remembered in Charlotte as that guy Williams yammed on. Never for anything else. (Miss you Biz)

This was one of those games that reminds viewers how good the Hornets can be. At their peak, this group is one of the toughest outs in the NBA. Their problem is they’ve been in a rut the last few months and haven’t found a way to pull out of it. They’ve been playing better as of late so maybe this is the moment everything comes together for them, or maybe not. The Magic are really bad so it’s hard to get a good gauge on how much this actually matters. Still, a win is a win and anytime it’s as dominant as this it has to mean a little something.