Hornets lose fifth in a row; Devonte Graham’s third consecutive double-double
Devonte Graham has gotten a lot of attention for his scoring this season, but that hasn’t been the only measure of his improvement.
Second-year Charlotte Hornet Graham had his 10th game this season of 10 or more assists in a 117-104 road loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. It’s the first time since the 2010-11 season that the Hornets had a player with 10 or more double-figure assist games in a season. This was Graham’s third consecutive double-double.
Nine other thoughts on the Hornets vs. the Grizzlies.
▪ The Grizzlies swept the two-game series with the Hornets. While the Hornets have a winning record against other sub-.500 teams, they have plenty of clunkers, too. Notably, losing at Cleveland and being blown out at home by the Atlanta Hawks.
▪ The Hornets tried some 2-3 zone, looking to cut down on some of the Grizzlies’ dribble-penetration, to varying success.
▪ The 3-point shooting, a Hornets strength early this season, has been shaky lately. After missing their first 18 3s Friday, they shot 2-of-14 from 3 in the first half Sunday.
▪ Graham’s reputation as a long-range shot-maker expanded in the second quarter, when he swished from about 40 feet to beat the shot clock.
▪ Second consecutive game the Hornets were charged with a silly technical foul: Friday, Terry Rozier threw a ball into the stands at the end of regulation. Sunday, they didn’t line up in the lane for free throws quickly enough.
▪ This was the second consecutive game when the Hornets had no injuries. With all those options, Nicolas Batum has fallen out of the rotation. That’s in part due to rookie Cody Martin’s expanded role, and in part to get Malik Monk’s scoring potential.
▪ P.J. Washington was asked on the pre-game show if sitting five games with a broken finger gave him any fresh perspective on his rookie season. Washington said it was a reminder of the importance of rebounding relentlessly.
▪ Coach James Borrego mentioned that while Miles Bridges is spending much (if not most) of his minutes at small forward this season, they are still “grooming” Bridges to be a power forward (which was the plan back in July). Where that gets complicated is Washington’s best NBA position sure looks like power forward, too.
▪ Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas elbowed Hornets forward Marvin Williams hard under the basket second quarter. Valanciunas received a flagrant foul, and it looked borderline ejection-worthy.
