Terry “Tank Commander” Rozier completely neglected his duty at the end of this one, contributing nine points in the fourth quarter including a clutch free throw to tie the game and send it overtime, and then adding in seven more points in the overtime period. It was only at the very end of the game, with the Hornets down by two and the ball in Rozier’s hands, that he finally remembered that he was supposed to be leading his team to the glorious land of infinite ping pong balls known as “Lotterytopia”. His three-point shot as time expired looked decent, but bonked off the rim just as coach Borrego instructed.
Would it have been cool for the Hornets to take down the reigning champ Raptors? Hell yeah it would have been cool. My tear-collection machinery would have been working overtime trying to harvest the tears of Raptors fans trying to understand how such a loss could have occurred. If I could somehow strap the tear-collection goggles to Nick Nurse’s face, those would be the most prized tears in my collection. Canadian tears taste like maple syrup, by the way.
But you know what’s even cooler? Having the Hornets’ team representative sitting at his little podium at the NBA draft lottery and smiling widely as Adam Silver announces that the Hornets will have the number one pick in the draft. Hopefully by that time a clear #1 pick will emerge and they won’t have to worry about drafting a bust. When’s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist gonna get back on the court, anyway?