Devonte Graham, Terry Rozier pulled Hornets back, but lost to Magic. Five observations
Guards Devonte Graham and Terry Rozier brought the Charlotte Hornets back from a 23-point first-half deficit against the Orlando Magic, but Orlando rookie Cole Anthony scored twice in the last 13 seconds for a 120-117 victory.
The Hornets went 1-3 in the preseason. Charlotte’s season opener is Wednesday on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Graham finished with 25 points and Rozier added 24. Those two combined to shoot 16 of 29 from the field.
Anthony, who spent one season at North Carolina before turning pro, finished with 19 points and four assists. Hornets rookie LaMelo Ball struggled with his shot Saturday, going 1 of 10 from the field and 0 of 4 from 3-point range. Ball had four points, four rebounds, four assists and four turnovers.
Five observations off the last preseason game:
Graham off the ball
Hornets coach James Borrego said recently that Graham would have less usage this season, but that shouldn’t translate to him being less effective. Although most Hornets struggled in the first half Saturday, Graham scored 14 points and made three of his first four attempts from 3-point range.
Drafting Ball third overall inevitably means Graham and Terry Rozier will play more off the ball this season. They are both good catch-and-shoot guys, so that shouldn’t keep them from continuing to be reliable scorers.
Washington struggles
P.J. Washington is being asked to divide his minutes between power forward and center. The Hornets started the second quarter throughout the preseason with 6-foot-7 Washington at center in a small-ball unit.
It’s a good tactic, in part because it facilitates Miles Bridges playing most of his minutes at power forward. However, Washington has had a rough preseason, as illustrated by the 2-of-11 shooting in the first half Saturday. Washington has advantages against some centers, but he also has to finish at the rim over much bigger players. It’s clear from his play this preseason that’s a work in progress.
Hayward recovery
As expected, small forward Gordon Hayward sat out his second straight preseason game after fracturing the base of his right pinkie finger in Monday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors. Hayward has done some individual workouts since then to test how effectively he can shoot and ball-handle with the injury. There’s no determination yet whether Hayward will be available for the season opener Wednesday in Cleveland.
In Hayward’s absence, Borrego started Cody Martin, who he calls the Hornets’ best “pound-for-pound defender.” Martin had it rough in the first half, missing his only shot (a 3-pointer) and grabbing one rebound. Charlotte was outscored by 29 in the 13 first-half minutes Martin played.
Monk minutes
Borrego searched for minutes in Orlando for Malik Monk, who missed a week of training camp and the first preseason game after testing positive for COVID-19. Borrego said pre-game that the situation nicked into Monk’s game conditioning.
“It’s not easy. This virus is a major deal,” Borrego said of Monk getting back to normal. “I believe in him. I trust him. We’ve got to get him back to 100% form.”
Rotation thoughts
Arguably, the most positive thing this Hornets preseason illustrated was considerably more depth than last season. Borrego said pre-game he’s open to using as many as 10 players to start the regular season.
That’s the upper limit of what NBA coaches typically do with their rotations, and Borrego said he’d want to trim that back over time.
It’s fair to say seven players are pretty much automatic to play: Graham, Ball, Hayward, Terry Rozier, Miles Bridges, Washington and Cody Zeller. The other rotation candidates: Cody Martin, Bismack Biyombo, Jalen McDaniels and Monk.
