The Hornets trounced their former coach’s new team in Orlando back in October to move to 1-1 on the season. It was the beginning of an incredible run during which the Hornets always stick agonizingly close to .500. On New Year’s Eve, the Hornets were again sitting one game below .500 with a visit from Steve Clifford’s Magic upcoming. It was quite obvious what was going to happen.

The Hornets obliterated the Magic for the second time this season. No Hornet played 30 minutes and the 25 point margin of victory almost undersold the total dominance the Hornets displayed. A home game against the Mavericks should be equally as winnable, even with Cody Zeller and Jeremy Lamb out with injuries.

Instead, the Hornets watched the Mavericks drain ten 3-pointers in the game’s opening period. It was the start of a walloping worse than the one the Hornets handed the Magic, and this time James Borrego and his team were on the wrong end of it. The deficit grew as large as 47 points at one point during the 4th quarter before a late run in garbage time made the score look less embarrassing.

The team deserves credit for how it responded to that loss. A visit to Denver’s high altitude to take on the West’s top team while down two starters could’ve have gone very poorly. But this is a team that stays near .500. They weren’t going to fall two games below that mark without a fight. The Hornets went toe-to-toe with Denver for about three quarters before running out of gas late. It was about as close to a moral victory as a team can get in the NBA.

The following visit to Phoenix was just what the doctor ordered. The Hornets snapped their four game road losing streak against the hapless Suns thanks to a monstrous fourth quarter from Kemba Walker and the most unnecessary heave you will ever see.

The highs

He’s become a mainstay of this section. Kemba Walker struggled for parts of the Hornets’ two losses last week, but he was instrumental in the wins. He scored 24 points on 16 shots in 27 minutes to leave the Magic in the dust, and he almost single-handedly buried the Suns in the fourth quarter on Sunday. Yet he somehow sits behind Dwyane Wade in early voting for the Eastern Conference All Star team. How absurd.

Malik Monk seems to have ingratiated himself with the coaching staff for the time being. He lit up the Magic and went on a personal run to keep the Nuggets within arm’s reach when they first tried to pull away. Even before the Jeremy Lamb injury, James Borrego seemed comfortable giving the second year pro about 20 minutes per night.

Devonte’ Graham has slid into Lamb’s starting spot and played much better than a rookie second round pick should. He averaged 9.5 points per game last week while hitting exactly two 3-pointers in each of the four games. He’s already made a case for best passer on the team and looks every bit the part of future backup point guard.

Bismack Biyombo got the call to start at center against the Nuggets and rewarding the coaching staff for their trust. He scored 16 points and 12 rebounds while providing an interior presence the Hornets have been lacking. He likely secured that starting spot for the foreseeable future.

The lows

Cody Zeller is injured again. This time it’s a broken hand that will keep him out about a month. In his absence, James Borrego has mixed and matched lineups to find an answer. Biyombo has played well, but he’s a liability on offense. Frank Kaminsky and Willy Hernangomez are still playing themselves off the court with poor defense.

Jeremy Lamb is also injured. Thankfully his hamstring strain seems minor and he should be back in the lineup before long. Still, it’s not easy to win games when two starters are out injured.

The Mavericks game. All of it.

The whole

The Hornets are 1-1 through the first two games of their most difficult road trip of the season. If they can steal two more wins over the last four, it’ll be huge for the team’s confidence and their place in the standings as they return to Charlotte.