Hornets’ NBA Cup hopes take serious blow. What loss to Brooklyn means for Charlotte
There wasn’t a crystal ball sitting on the table in front of Charles Lee or any other apparatus with foreshadowing capabilities.
But the Charlotte Hornets coach thought he had a pretty good inkling about what would transpire not long before the opening toss of Tuesday night’s East Group A matchup with the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center.
“These guys, I told them today I’m just so impressed with the fact we always rise to the opportunity,” Lee said. “And so we have a great opportunity in front of us to get back in the standings of the NBA Cup and also bounce back for a road win. So, I’m looking forward to it and I think our guys are going to respond.”
Building a 17-point first-half edge against a team with injuries to key players should have boosted the Hornets’ hopes of accomplishing something that had previously been an issue: winning a game in the NBA’s in-season tournament. But it didn’t happen.
Instead, the Hornets’ 116-115 loss to the Nets seriously minimizes their chances of advancing out of the first stage and drops them to 1-5 all-time during NBA Cup competition.
Although the Hornets (5-9) still have NBA Cup dates with the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers, a lot of things must fall their way for them to have a legitimate chance at playing in the next round. They’re already in jeopardy of not being among the six teams with the best standing in their respective groups that earn a place in the knockout round.
And punching a ticket as one of the two wild card teams is also a long shot, leaving the Hornets likely on the outside looking in when the tournament championship game takes place Dec. 17 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“Those games are cool — everybody wants to win the cup,” Tre Mann said. “But I feel like it’s more about us building and just taking every game and trying to get better. I think we had moments where we got better tonight. We grew as a team.
“But yeah, I feel like the Cup is little picture. The Cup games are little picture. We are trying to be good team at the end of the season and these Cup games give us a chance to do that. So, I’m just not really trying to worry about winning the Cup tournament. I feel like if we play every game and try to get better every game, we might put ourselves in the position to win it.”
In order for that to happen, though, there’s a road map the Hornets need to follow.
“Just staying focused,” Brandon Miller said. “Keeping our vets around, they are going to do everything they can just to keep everybody locked in on the same page, make sure we are executing not only plays on the offensive side but defensive side (and) execute coverages.
“There was some miscommunication on some coverages, which we definitely can get better on. But there’s a lot of space to grow right now.”
Welcome back, Tre Mann
Looks like Mann’s back is feeling better.
Just ask Nets center Noah Clowney.
After sitting out Sunday’s loss, marking the second time he wasn’t available in a three-game span, Mann returned against Brooklyn and fueled the Hornets’ late second-half surge. His 19 points helped stabilize Charlotte’s bench production, which had been severely diminished without him.
“It’s not like I was out four or five games, so I still felt good, my conditioning felt good,” Mann said. “When you miss games like that, it’s a conditioning thing and a rhythm thing. But just missing one game, I felt good when I got out there. I just had a slower start.”
Mann also even had a poster dunk, throwing one down over Clowney and subsequently getting slapped with a technical foul for taunting. Mann immediately raised his hand and pointed to himself, acknowledging the emotions got him a little carried away.
“I really just surprised myself,” Mann said. “I didn’t think I had it anymore, having a son and everything, getting old. So, just surprised myself really. And then the emotion, I was just lost in the game. I take that. Can’t afford those techs. It was a one-possession game and we had two or three techs. So, we’ve just got to stay with it and be smarter in those situations.”
Mann was so effective, Lee went with him over LaMelo Ball in the final 3:28. Ball is among the NBA’s leaders in fourth-quarter points, but Lee elected to go in another direction, riding the hot hand of Mann.
“Everyone on our team has been so critical as we’ve been kind of shorthanded and stuff,” Lee said. “But having Tre back gives us another ball-handler. Melo’s been phenomenal for us, and he’s done so many good things and he’s creating offensively and guarding.
“And I just thought that Tre had a little bit of a better hand tonight and was helping us a little bit more on both ends of the court. But that’s not to say that we weren’t getting anything from Melo early in the game. I thought he did a really good job of setting the table and doing some good things, too. I think every night it could be somebody different and they all need to accept the fact that if another guy has it going, we probably need to ride that hand.”
Praise for Kemba Walker
Charles Lee was very complimentary toward the native New Yorker on his staff.
That would be Kemba Walker, the Hornets’ player enhancement coach. Walker, who’s the team’s all-time leading scorer, does a lot of things behind the scenes and also helps out during pre-game warmups and various other areas.
“He just brings great perspective from so many fronts,” Lee said. “On how to be a player, on how to be a professional, the communication that our staff gives to the players. So, his impact is pretty much invaluable.”
