Hornets win their tenth in a row over the Pistons, who were dreadful offensively
There is no better remedy for the Charlotte Hornets’ doldrums than the Detroit Pistons.
The Hornets won their tenth in a row over the Pistons, 87-76 Monday at Little Caesars Arena. This game broke a five-game overall losing streak for the Hornets, improving their record to 17-36.
The Hornets got 18 points and seven rebounds from forward Miles Bridges. Malik Monk added 17 points off the bench.
The Pistons (19-37) got 12 points and 11 rebounds from Thon Maker.
Nice Buzz
The Pistons scored just 37 points in the first half, the fewest points allowed by the Hornets this season in a first half. Detroit scored 11 in the first quarter. That was the fourth time this season the Hornets either scored or allowed 11 or fewer points in a quarter this season, amazing in the NBA these days.
Bee stings
The Hornets could have been up by a lot more than 10 points at halftime, but they shot just 4-of-16 from 3-point range. They started out very strong as a 3-point shooting team but have drifted to 20th among the 30 NBA teams at 34.8 percent.
Building blocks
Hornets coach James Borrego has said he doesn’t want rookies sitting on the bench in Charlotte, rather than getting minutes with the G-League’s Greensboro Swarm. After veterans Marvin Williams and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist were released via buyouts, the Hornets called up Caleb Martin and Jalen McDaniels from Greensboro. Both were in the rotation Monday.
Beyond the numbers
When and how the Hornets will fill the open roster spots created by Williams’ and Kidd-Gilchrist’s departures, I don’t know. So far, it hasn’t been a problem in regard to having enough bodies for games. It could get complicated if the Hornets start having injuries. They were missing two players Monday: Cody Martin, who’s in the concussion protocol, and Nicolas Batum, who’s back in Charlotte with an illness.
This story was originally published February 10, 2020 at 9:18 PM.
