The Hornets’ swoon continues. Takeaways from Charlotte’s loss in Philadelphia
.JPG "Charlotte Hornets’ Mason Plumlee cannot get a shot off against Philadelphia 76ers’ James Harden, right, and De’Anthony Melton during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)")
Knowing the difficult circumstances the Charlotte Hornets are entangled in and sensing possible frustration mounting, Steve Clifford made sure to get a particular point across to his team over the weekend.
“Until we get our guys back, do we have a playoff roster that we are putting on the floor every night?” the coach said Sunday. “No, we don’t. But that doesn’t mean we can’t play playoff basketball. We can play playoff-type basketball.”
It appears the Hornets still have a bit of work to do before that’s consistently the case.
Unable to stop Philadelphia star big man Joel Embiid and devoid of enough offensive firepower outside of Kelly Oubre and Terry Rozier, the Hornets lost to the 76ers, 131-113, at Wells Fargo Center.
“It’s pretty much just locking in honestly,” Jalen McDaniels said. “We know we’ve been putting together halves, just not the full 48 yet. We are just building a lot of good qualities even though we are not finishing with the ‘W.’ It’s still learning from these games. I feel like today we had the right intent, right energy, we’ve just got to stick with it the whole way.”
Here are some takeaways from the Hornets’ 17th loss in their past 21 games:
Not enough in the fourth
For all the good things they did to climb out of a hefty 19-point hole, some of the issues that have cropped up in their losses were too much for the Hornets (7-20) to overcome Sunday night.
Defensively, they couldn’t get the necessary amount of stops and their rotations weren’t as sharp as they needed to be. Especially against Embiid, who torched Charlotte for 16 points in the game’s final quarter. That combination proved to be lethal on a night Rozier and Oubre kept their offensive fireworks going – each extending their career-long 20-plus point streaks to eight games to mark the first time in franchise history two players have had concurrent 20-point stretches of at least eight games.
PJ Washington never got into a rhythm, misfiring on 10 of his initial 11 attempts before connecting on his lone shot in the fourth. And Philadelphia (14-12) closed the Hornets out with a 19-6 spurt to end a 35-point final quarter.
“They went right to the (James) Harden-Embiid package and that’s tough stuff there,” Clifford said. “We made a couple of mistakes, but again that would be playoff basketball. That’s what they do with the game on the line and you have to be able to handle it. And you are talking about two great, great offensive players. Those are experiences that we can learn from.”
Oh, those early foul woes
The Hornets had the officials blowing their whistles early on and it cost them.
Fouls were way too common and the Hornets didn’t do a good job of not allowing continuation on the play, yielding three and-1s in the first half alone, including one to ex-Hornet Montrezl Harrell. Rozier and Oubre each picked up a third foul near the tail end of the first half, which aided Philadelphia in a 21-9 spurt to end the second quarter.
“Honestly, we’ve got to be more disciplined, I feel like, just getting the cheap ones, ” Jalen McDaniels said. “Especially me, slap down and trying to steal the ball and stuff like that. So, it’s just avoiding the cheap ones and playing solid (defense).’”
The constant hacks led to a huge free throw disparity early in the game. Philadelphia went to the line 17 times in the second quarter and 20 in the first half compared to just five trips for the Hornets, and the 76ers collected 17 points via free throws. That made it even more difficult for the Hornets to overcome a size issue inside that propelled Embiid to 53 points, 28 of which came in the first half.
Reversing the trend in the third quarter was key for the Hornets to get back into it heading into the fourth quarter. They connected on 15 and 17 attempts, which were both season bests in a single quarter.
“That last five minutes of the first half, Terry’s foul was because we did not run back,” Clifford said. “Jalen’s foul was because we tried to pick up James Harden full court, which is probably not going to work out for many people. And then Mason (Plumlee’s) foul was because didn’t run back. So it works together.
“Transition defense, defending without fouling ... it takes less talent than any other part of the game and yet it’s a big part of winning. Defending without fouling is the same thing. It takes understanding and being disciplined. Every time those guys go up, shoot and we slap down, it’s an awful play. It’s not like it’s a decision. It’s a terrible play.”
LaMelo absent again
The Hornets’ All-Star point guard is apparently still under the weather.
LaMelo Ball, who was already listed as out for the 11th consecutive game, did not travel with to Philadelphia due to illness the team said is unrelated to health & safety protocols. Ball was also sick Friday night and not on the bench for the Hornets’ loss to the Knicks, even forgoing his normal pregame shooting routine.
Ball has returned to practice, but hasn’t completely participated in all the drills and activities. The Hornets have a scheduled day off on Monday before resuming preparations for a two-game homestand before a six-game trip out west that wraps around Christmas.
This story was originally published December 11, 2022 at 9:05 PM.
