What’s wrong with the Charlotte Hornets? They’d like to know, too
.JPG "Charlotte Hornets’ LaMelo Ball drives past Milwaukee Bucks’ Jrue Holiday during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, in Milwaukee . (AP Photo/Morry Gash)")
If more evidence is required as proof the days of the Charlotte Hornets’ record-breaking start are well in the past, replaced by mounting losses and a nosedive in the Eastern Conference standings, Exhibit A came Monday night in Milwaukee.
Facing the Bucks — a team they’ve hung with in their three previous meetings this season and knocked off in successive games in January — the Hornets were pummeled 130-96 at Fiserv Forum on Monday night. Losers of 11 of their last 13 games, they can’t sustain any positive consistency and look nothing like the team that’s taken apart some of the league’s best.
It brings up a simple query: Just what’s wrong with the Hornets?
“That’s a great question,” PJ Washington said. “I feel like if we had an answer to that we wouldn’t have lost all those games. So I think for us we’ve got to stick with it. We can’t let the last 13 games affect next game. So we’ve just got to come in with a mindset of we’ve got to play hard no matter who we are playing and get the job done. Tonight was just unacceptable from top to bottom.”
It’s a feeling they’ve been stuck with a lot lately and remain dumbfounded it’s reached this point. Answers are sparse.
“To be honest, I don’t even know,” LaMelo Ball said. “(We’ll) probably go over the scouting report and see what it is.”
The Hornets entered Tuesday 10th in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind ninth-place Atlanta, and holding onto the final play-in spot.
Let’s help count the ways. Here are some reasons why the Hornets (30-33) are stumbling:
BAD DEFENSE
Low-scoring games are not a part of the Hornets’ repertoire and that’s not necessarily a good thing. The Hornets have been exposed defensively throughout the entire season, especially inside the paint where it seems like there’s a revolving door.
During this rough patch, save for the 93 points they yielded to Toronto on Friday, the fewest points they’ve allowed was the 102 to Cleveland on Feb. 5. They are surrendering an average of 115.1 points in their last 13 games.
“We’ve got to communicate more, just be together on that end,” Washington said. “In this league, guys are going to make shots. That’s the bottom line. So we’ve got to do a better job of not letting them make as many shots. So we’ve just got to step it up on that end.”
In every facet.
“Pretty much lock in and don’t worry about rotations or the refs or anything,” Ball said. “Just play basketball.
“We are trying to fix it every day, so we’ll see what happens.”
REBOUNDING CONCERNS
An inability to properly clean the glass is haunting them. Milwaukee collected a season-best 62 rebounds, with 17 coming on the offensive end.
Corralling rebounds hasn’t been a strength of the Hornets all season and it’s being exacerbated now, particularly in the closing minutes. Failing to reel in a rebound has cost them dearly in their overtime losses. They often are playing smaller in the fourth quarter because of Mason Plumlee’s free-throw shooting troubles and that leads to them being clobbered on the boards.
“This is not going away,” coach James Borrego said. “This is the one area we’ve focused on all week, all year. From training camp on, we have focused on rebounding. It’s got to continue to be our focus.”
FREE THROW WOES
Being among the worst teams in the league at the free-throw line is haunting the Hornets. These are the easy points that should be a reward for not settling for long-distance jumpers and opting to take the ball to the basket.
When it comes to the Hornets, though, it’s always an adventure anytime someone steps to the line.
They are shooting 73.2 percent, which ranks 28th in the NBA. Many of these nail-biting defeats could have been settled either in regulation or in the extra session by knocking down one more free throw. In their last two games alone, they’ve connected on just 65.1 percent of their attempts.
GORDON’S ABSENCE
They’ll never fully admit it because it would be considered an excuse, but there is no question the Hornets sorely miss Gordon Hayward’s presence. And for a variety of reasons.
For all the flak he takes about his contract, Hayward does several things that go unnoticed to the untrained eye. The focus is typically on his scoring because that’s what many utilize as a barometer to gauge if he’s performing to the standards they think he should because of his paycheck.
But Hayward helps with their spacing since teams have to respect his jumper, ability to drive and also be a playmaker. Hayward is also a calming influence and his even-keeled nature balances out an inexperienced, youth-laden roster.
Even though he doesn’t do anything to blow you away, there’s a reason the Hornets are 50-42 with Hayward and 12-33 minus his services. Getting him back would help, but he’s still in a walking boot and who knows when — or if — he could be available for the sprint heading into April.
Add all those things up, throw in a few more kinks that haven’t been consistently ironed out, and it equates to a lot of maddening performances, the most recent being their hapless outing against Milwaukee.
“We are better than what we showed tonight and we didn’t show it,” Washington said. “It was just as simple as that. We’ve got to come out and show it every night.”
With only 19 games remaining, they don’t have many more chances left.
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 8:28 AM.
