LaMelo sits, Hornets still give Atlanta fits. What we learned in Charlotte’s victory
.JPG "Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) is fouled by Charlotte Hornets guard Dennis Smith Jr. (8) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)")
A lengthy injury list that never seems to shrink has undoubtedly victimized the Charlotte Hornets this season, making it difficult to sustain success.
But that’s not the only reason for the Hornets’ struggles.
“What we haven’t gotten to regardless of who’s playing — and definitely the injuries are part of it, is we haven’t come up with a way to play yet so we play well consistently,” coach Steve Clifford said.
They may be finding a blueprint, albeit slowly.
Without the services of star point guard LaMelo Ball on a night they finally welcomed Gordon Hayward back into the lineup, the Hornets used a huge second-half charge to earn a 122-118 victory over Atlanta at State Farm Arena on Saturday night.
“We certainly have to learn how to win,” Hayward said. “In this league it’s difficult, and we’ve got to take every win we can right now and try to build on it and improve on the things we didn’t do well, and keep doing the things that we did well.”
In overcoming a 19-point deficit, the Hornets (13-34) pulled off their largest come-from-behind win of the season. They also picked up a successive victory for only the second time this season, an indicator of just how tough things have been.
“We are just trying to put wins together,” Terry Rozier said. “Teams are probably looking at us and looking at our record, probably looking at it like an off night to relax. We are coming in and we are just trying to play hard and control what we can control. Obviously, our last two games we were able to do that and get a win, so we are just looking forward and hopefully we can keep doing that.”
Here are some key takeaways from the Hornets’ second straight victory:
Scared straight
Rozier basically put the Hornets on the back of his 6-foot-1 frame.
Rozier sparked the Hornets with 34 points and drained a season-best seven 3-pointers. Twice in the final six minutes, he nailed a big shot to give them the lead -- including the go-ahead free throws with 1.1 seconds remaining after he got fouled by Jalen Johnson on an attempt beyond the arc with Atlanta (24-23) ahead by a point.
“It’s just confidence,” Rozier said. “Sometimes I’m going to make them, sometimes I’m going to miss. But my confidence never leaves. My teammates do a good job of looking for me, coaches do a great job of drawing up plays. So, I just try to go out there and be me. I’m human. I’m going to make some shots, I’m going to miss some. That’s just what it is. But I’m going to live and die with who I am.”
Rozier posted 17 points in the third, matching his season-high for most in a quarter, and the five 3-pointers he swished tied the second-most 3-pointers by a Hornets in a quarter since 1996-97.
“I’ve seen that movie several times,” Hayward said. “He’s never afraid of the moment and he’s ready to take and make big shots. And we needed all of his points tonight. He was huge.”
Free points nearly costly
When the Hornets re-watch the footage of this one, they’ll surely lament their lack of composure and poise at the tail end of the second quarter when they made a trademark, head-scratching play leading to frustration boiling over.
PJ Washington inexplicably fouled Trae Young on a desperation heave a few steps inside the halfcourt line just as time expired, and Young was given three free throws after replay confirmed the call. Clifford was incensed about something while Young was shooting his second free throw and got slapped with a technical foul.
Young sank all four free throws with 0.4 seconds remaining to pad Atlanta’s lead. Rather than trailing by a dozen points at the intermission, the Hornets instead found themselves in a 16-point hole.
“It fueled us going into halftime,” Washington said. “We knew it was some B.S. So, we knew we had to come out and play hard, try to get the lead down. We did a great job of that and in the fourth quarter we dominated.”
Gordon a ‘2’
Although Hayward was in the starting unit, technically he didn’t get slotted into his usual spot.
Without Ball’s services, Clifford elected to move Rozier over to point guard with the game’s opening unit and slid Hayward in at shooting guard.
The thinking revolved around Clifford wanting Hayward to help initiate the Hornets’ offense since they were missing playmaking ability in Ball’s absence. It was a delicate act for Clifford, given Jalen McDaniels got plagued by fouls all night and Hayward couldn’t ramp up to a full workload in his first game back.
“We didn’t really get to the way we planned it because of Jalen’s foul trouble,” Clifford said. “And then Terry played 38 (minutes). He played a lot more (than expected). The subbing was actually a lot different than what we planned on.”
This story was originally published January 21, 2023 at 10:21 PM.
