Sixers’ size again bullies Charlotte Hornets, who lose back-to-back in Philadelphia
The Charlotte Hornets again couldn’t handle the Philadelphia 76ers’ size, falling behind by 20 in the fourth quarter en route to a 118-101 road loss Monday.
The defeat dropped the Hornets to 2-5. They have two more games on this road trip, against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday and the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.
Devonte Graham broke out of a shooting slump, making five 3-pointers Monday. Graham had made 2 of 20 shots from the field in his prior two games.
Five observations from Monday’s game:
Getting ball to the rim
The 76ers have significant size advantages over the Hornets with center Joel Embiid and guard-forward Ben Simmons. They exploited that dramatically in a run late in the first half, finishing that half with 32 points scored in the lane to the Hornets’ 18.
The Sixers play so well inside-out, with Embiid, Simmons and Tobias Harris getting the ball to the rim, and Seth Curry and Danny Green spotting up for kick-out 3s.
Size trouble for Hornets
It was inevitable going into this two-game series in Philadelphia that the Sixers would amplify the Hornets’ size problems. Cody Zeller is out until early February with a broken left hand. Bismack Biyombo starts at center and coach James Borrego uses forwards P.J. Washington and Miles Bridges as small-ball centers.
Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak hasn’t used the open roster spot with another big man, and Borrego hasn’t used rookie big men Vernon Carey or Nick Richards yet while games’ outcome are still in doubt.
Turnovers aplenty for Charlotte
The Hornets committed 10 first-half turnovers Monday, including three each by Biyombo and Caleb Martin.
Biyombo is a much-improved offensive player from what he was as a Charlotte rookie. However, he still doesn’t catch particularly well in the post. Gordon Hayward and LaMelo Ball keep making an effort to feed him, but passes still go through his hands or fumbled out of bounds.
Rotation tweak
For the second consecutive game, Borrego trimmed back his rotation from 10 players in the first half to nine. Both times, Cody Martin was the player no longer in the rotation.
Borrego said pre-game Monday that his decision wasn’t a loss in faith in Cody Martin: “I believe in Cody Martin. He’s a big piece of what we’re trying to do here.” Rather, Borrego said, he needed additional offense, and that isn’t Cody Martin’s strength.
Caleb, Cody’s twin brother, was among the first Hornets used off the bench.
Malik Monk appearance
Malik Monk made his first game appearance of the season in the fourth quarter. Monk missed training camp after testing positive for COVID-19. In the time he missed, the Martin twins and Jalen McDaniels established themselves off the bench at the wing positions.
Monk had a breakout February before being suspended by the NBA under the anti-drug policy. He trained intensely over the summer before the coronavirus diagnosis set him back.
“It’s super frustrating,” Monk told the Observer last week of not playing, “when I know I can help a lot.”
This story was originally published January 4, 2021 at 9:16 PM.
