Jazz clobber Hornets in opener of West Coast trip; what went so wrong in Rockies
The Charlotte Hornets avoided their lowest-scoring game of the season Friday in Salt Lake City, but just barely.
Little-used reserve center Willy Hernangomez made a free throw with 1 1/2 minutes left to get past 83 points in a 109-92 loss to the Utah Jazz.
The Hornets had scored just 83 Dec. 13 against the Bulls in Chicago.
Ten observations on a rough start to a four-game West Coast road trip:
▪ Hornets guard Terry Rozier continued his run of big scoring games with 23 points, but Devonte Graham finished with just four points and shot 2-of-9 from the field (0-of-4 from 3). That broke a streak of 22 games where Graham made at least one 3-pointer.
▪ It took the Hornets until about five minutes left in the third quarter to reach 50 points. You hardly ever see that in the NBA.
▪ The Hornets’ 38 first-half points were their fewest this season (prior low was 39 vs. Phoenix Suns last month). Jazz center Rudy Gobert’s four blocked shots were a factor, but so were the Hornets’ 11 turnovers.
▪ Hornets veteran Nic Batum got his first minutes in seven games when coach James Borrego inserted him late in the second quarter, the Hornets already down 20. Batum last played in Boston Dec. 22. That was the second of back-to-back starts for Batum, the prior one vs. the Jazz in Charlotte.
▪ Borrego went with an eight-man rotation vs. the Toronto Raptors Wednesday, particularly short for an NBA game. The only reserves Borrego used were Dwayne Bacon, Malik Monk and Cody Zeller. After not playing vs. the Raptors, rookie Cody Martin played in the second quarter Friday.
▪ Beyond the obvious rim-protection Gobert provides, his presence makes opposing offenses rush -- when a team gets into transition you want to find a shot before Gobert gets to the lane, but that sometimes makes for bad shots.
▪ With Gobert such a deterrent at the rim, it was particularly important the Hornets shoot well from 3-point range Friday, but they made only three of their first 12 attempts from long range.
▪ The altitude in Salt Lake City (and Denver, too) makes it rough on visiting teams. Some opposing coaches fly their teams in early to practice in the Rockies, in hopes it will help acclimate players’ lungs. Borrego chose to practice in Charlotte Thursday, then fly west.
▪ Gobert had four dunks in the game’s first quarter. The Hornets had only five first-quarter baskets. So not much surprise the Hornets trailed by 16 entering the second quarter.
▪ The Hornets got back Marvin Williams, after he missed two games following a procedure on a nasal fracture. Williams was still sore enough at shootaround Wednesday that the Hornets scratched him for the home game against the Raptors.
