What a stinker: Hornets set dubious mark in road trip finale vs. Milwaukee
When Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard outscored the Charlotte Hornets in the first quarter — all by himself — it appeared to be the start to one of those nights.
Things actually got worse from there.
Barely 48 hours after bearing witness to one of the worst shooting displays in Portland franchise history, the sneaker was on the proverbial other foot for the Hornets on Tuesday night. Perhaps Bally Sports Wisconsin TV analyst Marques Johnson summed it up best, calling the Hornets “equal opportunity bricklayers.”
And that’s probably being kind.
The final margin in the Hornets’ 123-85 loss to the Bucks at Fiserv Forum looks even more menacing when taking a closer peek at the first half, during which Charlotte produced a mere 26 points. It’s the lowest output in a half by any team in the NBA this season, falling below the mark set by — who else? — the Hornets themselves in Friday’s loss to Golden State when they totaled 29.
For those counting at home, that’s twice in their last three games the Hornets couldn’t shoot straight.
“Obviously, their defense was good and obviously Damian Lillard was just great early,” coach Steve Clifford said. “He got them going with the pick-and-roll game and I think he had five 3s in the first quarter. I think that was the biggest factor and we struggled offensively. We were better as the game went on, but he was great.”
Milwaukee feasted on the Hornets for the second time in 18 games, pounding the visitors by an average of 37 points. And guess who Charlotte hosts Thursday following a 2-2 road trip that saw rare road wins in both Portland and Utah?
“There’s definitely a newness,” Clifford said. “Until tonight, our defense had been really good. We’ve got to get back to being more inside-out offensively. That’s when we’ve been good, that’s when most teams are good. That’s what we’ve struggled with the past couple of games.”
Here’s what else Clifford had to say about the Hornets and how things are going during this first week following the All-Star break:
On the return of Seth Curry and Davis Bertans from injury
“They help us a lot. They’re veteran players, they know how to play. They’re very calming. We’ve got to execute better when they are on the floor. So they help us at both ends.”
On what he wants to accomplish moving forward
“What you want to get to is that you have a group-like mentality that you play the game win or lose and then you are able to try to make progress regardless of whether you win or lost. It’s obviously easier to do with a veteran team or a team that’s experienced success for sure. But I will say one thing: one of the new guys said to me the other day that he was surprised by the attitude of the guys that were here.
“We were 10-41 when they got here and his thing was like, ‘Man, they practiced and worked, they were upbeat in the locker room. I think that says a lot about the guys, the Miles Bridges, Brandon Millers, Nick Richards and Cody Martin. Because so much of this league is handling frustration and disappointment and those guys did a good job with that.”
On adjusting still with the new players
“It is hard on the fly. I think you try to, No. 1, (put) the emphasis, on talk. Talking is such a big part of our game on both ends and it’s just making sure they understand how critical it is that we all talk the same language. So we can’t have two guys saying, ‘Switch,’ one guy saying, ‘Red’ because they did it in Dallas and ‘black’ in switch in Oklahoma City. It’s not going to work.
“But also what makes it easier — the guys we brought in are veteran guys. So, I think the first time somebody’s traded, it’s a big adjustment for them and I think as guys get older and they’ve played for three, four teams, the time it takes them to adjust is much quicker.”
This story was originally published February 27, 2024 at 11:31 PM.
