Michael Jordan picked the best game to return to the Spectrum Center. In the first match he attended in the 2020/21 season, the Charlotte Hornets owner saw a lot of good things from his team, one of the biggest surprises this campaign in the NBA.
MJ got to watch his rookie sensation LaMelo Ball, who didn’t have the best game of all but managed to make some impressive plays during the match against the Detroit Pistons, one of Jordan’s biggest rivals during his active days.
This LaMelo finish 🔥 https://t.co/ypgPoMzU3x
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 12, 2021
But, the biggest show of the night was Terry Rozier, who keeps showing he’s different this season. Scary Terry recently called game against the Golden State Warriors and has led his team to win games after games, having arguably the best performance of the season against the Pistons, showing his clutchness in front of one of the most clutch players in NBA history.
Final 3:11 for Terry Rozier:
4-point play ✅
3-point play ✅
3 pointer ✅
Icy runner ✅@T_Rozzay3 lifts @hornets in the clutch. pic.twitter.com/XSiwb9tTFg
— NBA (@NBA) March 12, 2021
The former Boston Celtics player went 4 of 5 in the final 3:11 of the game, scoring 12 points over that span, enough to give the Hornets a 105-102 win over Detroit. MJ saw all of that on the sidelines and it’s fair to say he was enjoying watching his player do the things he used to do during the 90s.
https://twitter.com/LegionHoops/status/1370197380541284353
The Hornets won their 18th game of the season, bringing their record to 18-18, ranking 6th in the East. MJ and his team have done the right things to make this team a competitive one and they’re already seeing the benefits of that.
Playing for this man isn’t easy and James Borrego explained that better than anybody. After the game, the head coach praised Terry Rozier for his game, noting that he had some extra motivation last night.
“That’s rare. He’s very comfortable in those moments. It’s almost like he’s more locked in the tighter the game is. That’s rare at any level, much less at this level. He’s fantastic. He’s been great, he’s been a closer for us all season and he did it again tonight. I think 12 points in the last three minutes – I think 12 of our last 15 points came out of Terry’s hand. He’s been fantastic and we didn’t get him much touches. We have a number of guys right now, so he didn’t get many touches tonight, but in those closing moments, he’s as comfortable as anybody right now,” Borrego said on Rozier’s performance in front of Michael Jordan.
“Yeah, and I call that fearless – he’s fearless. And he’s going to bear the responsibility, make or miss. Many players in this league aren’t willing to go there, they’re not willing to take that risk. Terry’s fine with it, he’s going to live with the result, but he plays with that fearlessness down the stretch. And I think that’s why he shoots it so well; he thinks it’s going in. It’s special – it’s special to have a closer like that.”
They are on the right path to be a threat for the rest of the conference in the upcoming years. Rozier, Gordon Hayward, and LaMelo are the three biggest figures on the team but they have a supporting cast that is willing to do the dirty job if that means they’re winning games. That has worked so far and the fans can’t be more excited about the present and the future of this franchise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1jq7rP03dk
