Pelicans spoil Hornets’ home-opening vibe. What we learned in Charlotte’s 124-112 loss
Terry Rozier pointed into the western side of the Spectrum Center stands and then to the floor as if to remind everyone.
Rozier had just thrown down a right-handed, fast-break dunk, bringing most of the 19,287 patrons in the sellout crowd to their feet in a way they hadn’t risen since hearing rapper Petey Pablo, North Carolina’s own, rock the microphone at halftime. Rozier pulled the Charlotte Hornets within two, giving them a fighter’s chance to knock off impressive New Orleans.
But then it an unraveled rather quickly, spiraling in the wrong direction.
“Yeah, it’s difficult, especially when it was like silly possessions that we gave away, silly fouls,” Hornets forward Gordon Hayward said. “We put them to the line, they were able to silence the crowd, score the easiest way and most efficient way you can score. And it’s draining. But it’s something we can learn from for sure and try to pick up some of the things that they did, some of the tricky things that they did to get themselves to the line and utilize it in our game.”
New Orleans never fully relinquished its firm grip on things and spoiled the Hornets’ home opener, sending them to a 124-112 loss on a night they were without the services of LaMelo Ball for a second game in a row.
They wasted Rozier’s near triple double — 23 points, career-high tying 11 assists and eight rebounds — and the veteran guard’s output wasn’t quite enough to lift the Hornets to their second win in three days. Too many miscues victimized them.
“We talked about it,” Rozier said. “It was just silly plays. Them scoring with the clock stopped, it’s unacceptable. We dug ourselves in a hole from the beginning of the game and then again early in the third quarter. It’s things that we can control and it’s unacceptable.”
Rozier had a scare late in the fourth quarter when he took a tumble near the baseline closest to the the Pelicans’ bench, rolling his right ankle. He stayed in the game, but left the arena wearing a walking boot, putting his status for Sunday’s matchup with the team that knocked them out of the play-in tournament up in the air.
Still, he didn’t seem overly concerned about the injury leading into their date with Atlanta.
“Yeah, you know the boot is just to help me feel better for Sunday,” Rozier said. “I think it’ll be fine.”
Here’s what we learned in the Hornets’ first loss of the season:
Inside issues
It wasn’t the best of nights on the interior for the Hornets.
Closing out possessions was a serious problem, and they had glaring issues against New Orleans, which boasts a huge front line. The Pelicans pounded the Hornets in the paint to the tune of 62 points. They also clobbered Charlotte on the offensive glass, snatching 15 offensive rebounds. And it felt even worse than that.
By not corralling New Orleans down low, it gave the Pelicans way too many easy opportunities. They didn’t have to work overly hard for a bulk of their buckets and that made it a challenge for the Hornets to match that firepower offensively.
“The points in the paint thing is definitely an issue,” coach Steve Clifford said. “Again, we are not going to win … you can’t win (that way). We can be fun to watch and have a fun way to play and all that stuff. You are only going to go so far if the other team lives in the paint and scores on second-chance points. No team has ever done it that’s played like that. It’s not going to happen. And we are capable, too, by the way.”
Gordon Hayward stays hot
Say this about Hayward through two games: He’s knocked off the rust.
Despite playing in just one meaningful outing in six months, the veteran has looked pretty good to begin his third season with the Hornets. On the heels of his 20-point, five-rebound, two-assist performance in San Antonio two nights earlier, Hayward totaled 27 points to go with seven assists and helped them hang around.
It marked just the 17th time in his career he has totaled that many points and assists in the same game.
“He’s just such a good player in every phase of the game,” Clifford said. “Gordon is an All-Star caliber player when he’s healthy and from what I’m told this is the healthiest he’s been. He’s in a great place mentally. But he’s just a good, smart, old-school basketball player, and he can do everything. He’s very good defensively. He’s a terrific decision-maker. He can score in a lot of different ways. He can play without the ball, he can play in the pick-and-roll. He’s a very, very good player.”
Perhaps the most encouraging thing of all — besides his health — is Hayward isn’t simply settling for jump shots. He was effective in the midrange and also aggressive going into the paint. With Ball out, the Hornets need others to create offense and be playmakers, and Hayward is doing his part in that department so far.
“I feel like I’m moving pretty well out there,” Hayward said. “I feel like that was a big focus for me during the offseason, was to make sure that I’m moving correctly, and if that continues to be the case, then I’ll be good out there. I’ve got to continue to attack more. I’ve got to get to the line more because that opens up my whole game. Just continue to attack.”
No Cody
Once again, the Hornets didn’t have one of their top defenders available. And it’s unclear when that is going to change.
Cody Martin spent the evening in street clothes, sitting out with left quad soreness. He got injured in the first quarter against the Spurs and logged only 56 seconds before exiting and not returning.
Martin missed all but one of the Hornets’ five preseason games, in part to ensure the left knee tendiopathy he was experiencing didn’t flare back up. But something didn’t feel right for Martin against the Spurs, and the Hornets apparently aren’t planning on rushing him back too quickly.
“Hopefully, it’s not anything that’s going to linger,” Clifford said. “When he first went in the game — and I hadn’t seen it until the tape but Joe Sharpe saw it — but he kind of stumbled and his knee bent, the one that he’s had issues with. So it flared back up and so obviously we need to be careful with this. They had done a great job getting him back.
“He’s, to me, is a critical, critical player on our team and we need what he brings, But the priority right now is just to get him healthy.”
This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 9:43 PM.
