The swoon continues. Takeaways from the Hornets’ home loss to the Trail Blazers
It had a familiar plot.
Holding onto leads had been a huge issue for the Charlotte Hornets and directly resulted in them losing four of their first five home games leading into Wednesday’s game against Portland, and Steve Clifford’s reasoning for it was simple.
“Our problem has been we are playing without our best offensive players,” the coach said. “So Terry (Rozier) is back now and he makes a big difference. But we’ve played for the most part … when you get down to the last five, six minutes of an NBA game that’s who you want to have, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard. That’s how you get two to the ball. And having Terry helps a lot, especially when he gets back in rhythm. But that’s the tough part — when you lose your primary scorers.”
Yet another game without LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward produced the same result. Done in by a mostly lackluster second half, the Hornets fell to Portland 105-95 at Spectrum Center.
Losers of six straight and eight of their past nine games, the Hornets (3-9) are going in the wrong direction. They’re headed south and staring at a three-game road trip that features consecutive games in Miami before concluding things against Orlando, which already pounded them by 20 points two weeks ago.
“We’re not feeling sorry for ourselves,” Mason Plumlee said. “We’re looking to correct mistakes and really buy into what we’re doing. I think that’s the attitude and that’s what it has to be.”
Here’s what we learned in the Hornets’ latest defeat:
Roller-coaster ride
Blink and one might’ve missed it.
The game turned in the third quarter for the Hornets, which felt like a headscratcher since they came out with a serious charge to begin the second half. A 19-2 spurt transformed a five-point halftime deficit into a 12-point advantage.
But it was short-lived.
Portland (8-3) seized control with a 16-4 run to square things at 72 and held the Hornets off from there. Cold shooting partially victimized the Hornets -- they made 14 of 43 attempts -- while Portland kept pouring it on, racking up more than its share of and-1s.
So how can the Hornets do a better job on ensuring they don’t relinquish control?
“That’s a good question,” Plumlee said. “I think just understanding what teams are adjusting to. Our run was because we adjusted to those pick-and-rolls. We just said we were going to blitz it. I thought our guys did a great job on the backside once we started blitzing. Then they started switching once they went to (Trendon) Watford at the ‘5.’
“So it’s just understanding why teams are making strategic decisions and realizing you can’t play the same way against that. We can’t rely on Cliff to call a timeout every time a team makes an audible or makes a change. I think a lot of that falls on us as older guys on the floor to get us organized and to take advantage of whatever they are doing.”
Bench mobbed
While the Hornets’ starters each cracked double figures in scoring, they just couldn’t get quite enough from their reserves to help push them over the top against Portland.
The Trail Blazers’ bench outscored the Hornets 35-22. Jalen McDaniels and James Bouknight combined for two-thirds of the Hornets’ points, and Charlotte didn’t get anything from the backup point guard position.
Shaeden Sharpe served as Portland’s main catalyst off the bench, posting a season-high 17 points, and the Hornets had issues containing the guy who was selected No. 7 overall in the draft in June.
Sharpe’s six second-half points matched the total of the Hornets’ bench in the final two quarters.
“They’ve had nights when they’ve been good,” Clifford said. “Tonight, not as good. We broke the lineup there in the third quarter and that was probably the biggest part of the game. We had momentum. We didn’t get as good of play. But those guys, they’ve had their moments when they’ve done a good job. They weren’t good tonight, but that’s not been an every night issue.”
Kelly picks it up
Despite pouring in 20 points in Monday’s loss, Kelly Oubre didn’t really like his overall performance. Oubre thought he should have done more, pointing to his lack of rebounds and minuscule production in other categories.
Oubre made a conscious effort to crash the boards against the Trail Blazers, collecting seven. That was fueled in part by a season-best three offensive rebounds.
Getting to the free throw line also seemed to be a priority for Oubre. He went there seven times, matching his season high, and connected on five of his attempts.
Billups a fan of Dennis Smith Jr.
The last time Dennis Smith Jr. saw a Portland uniform, he was actually wearing one.
Guess that’s why he looked so fired up playing against the Trail Blazers. Smith Jr. came out with a purpose in the opening quarter, matching his season-high in points in a quarter with nine on 4-of-4 shooting.
He also has a reverse dunk and even let out a little scream afterward, perhaps to remind Portland of his skills. Smith Jr. even playfully headbutted the ball after it went through the hoop on a fastbreak layup, an indicator he was having some fun against the guys he suited up with for 37 games in 2021-22 before he was waived in February as he recovered from an elbow injury.
Smith Jr. glared over at the Portland bench after a third-quarter putback dunk over Lillard, who he guarded most of the night, picking him up full court. The 24-year-old was definitely into it.
“We had a lot of tough days last year as a team,” Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “I had a lot of tough days. One of my toughest days was cutting Dennis away. I was in love with Dennis all year long. He embodies what I believe in. I believe everyone is kind of seeing that now, but the way he came to practice every day, his back was against the wall — he changed our team.
“We won a lot more games than we probably should have. Obviously, he’s an elite defender, he’s in a position to get it to the paint, he makes plays for everyone. I’ll text him sometimes this season and just tell him how proud I am of him.”
This story was originally published November 9, 2022 at 10:17 PM.
