Focus and free throws: How the Charlotte Hornets hope to jump-start a struggling offense
Gordon Hayward’s flight to Charlotte had just landed when he saw the score of the Hornets-Pacers game on his phone.
In four quarters, his team scored 158 points against the Indiana Pacers on Jan. 26, a league high.
Hayward, who had missed the game because of healthy and safety protocols, said he wasn’t surprised by the score.
“We can put up some points, now,” Hayward said Monday. “I was also kind of like, ‘Dang, 160 points. They must have been hitting everything.’”
They were.
But since then, the Hornets have struggled. They are currently on a four-game losing streak, they are ninth in the Eastern Conference, and their offense is struggling.
The Hornets play the Toronto Raptors on Monday night and are hoping they can turn things around. Since their four-game slide began, they’ve averaged 96 points, 17.6 points fewer than their league-leading season average. In two of those games, they’ve shot below 35% from the floor.
“Obviously our shooting has dropped a bit,” Hornets coach James Borrego said Saturday. “I think that’s where we’ve gone a little bit south offensively. We’ve had good looks and we’ve just got to find our way back offensively and making shots and trusting it.”
Some players have been noticeably frustrated during games. Rookie James Bouknight briefly got into it with Borrego on the bench. Guard Terry Rozier was brief in his postgame interview after the loss to Cleveland Friday.
Small forward Miles Bridges admitted Saturday that he was frustrated too.
“Once we started missing shots, our heads went down,” Bridges said. “Everybody, including myself. My head went down and they got out in transition and got buckets.”
One reason for the Hornets’ struggles on offense is the quality of their opponents. The Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers all rank in the top 10 in the NBA in team defense. And though the Hornets rank first in the NBA in points per game, opponents have made it difficult for them.
The Raptors are no different. They rank ninth in the NBA in team defense, allowing their opponents to score 106.9 points per game and shoot 46% from the field.
Another reason is they aren’t getting to the free throw line as often as they should.
Against the Cavaliers, who have the No. 1-ranked defense, the Hornets attempted only 12 free throws. Against the Heat, they attempted only 16. Sunday night, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, a front runner for league MVP, attempted 11 by himself. In the 158-126 win over the Pacers, the Hornets attempted 33 free throws.
“Getting myself to the line helps me get going,” Hayward, who averages 16.4 points per game, said. “And I can’t tell you the last time I shot a free throw.”
Hayward said the Hornets need to attack the basket and finish through contact. That will help get them to the line. Nearly 50 percent of their shots last Friday were 3-pointers.
“I think sometimes settling for jumpers, especially when you’re not feeling as well as you could from outside, can snow ball on you,” Hayward said. “So getting the energy up, getting to the line will help our team.”
Other news
The Hornets listed guard Cody Martin and Bouknight as “doubtful” for Monday’s game.
Martin is dealing with left ankle and Achilles soreness, while Bouknight is dealing with a right wrist sprain.
The Hornets also recalled center Vernon Carey and rookies Kai Jones and JT Thor from the Greensboro Swarm.
This story was originally published February 7, 2022 at 2:59 PM.
