What’s wrong with the Hornets? Charlotte searches for answers in players-only meeting
Perhaps inspired by the amount of shopping days left before the unwrapping of presents, the Charlotte Hornets were in the gift-giving mood Monday night.
But this stocking stuffer didn’t exactly evoke exhilarating memories for anyone, certainly not the paying patrons who had visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads. Instead, the Hornets gave away something closer to a huge lump of coal.
Things were so maddening, the Hornets had a closed-door meeting to discuss the stench emanating from their 114-101 loss to the Houston Rockets at Spectrum Center.
“I feel like we established ourselves in the first 10 games as a team that plays physical,” Miles Bridges said. “At one point we were leading the league in offensive rebounding. We’ve just got to get back to that. We had a great conversation. Taj (Gibson) really got us together in the locker room — players only — and he talked to us.
“I talked to the team, Taj talked to us a lot. I feel like that really got to us, so I feel like these next couple games we’re going to see who really wants to play.”
Turning around their struggling ways has become a chore, and Gibson decided to impart some of his veteran wisdom on the group. In dropping 13 of their last 14 games, the Hornets (7-22) are immersed in a freefall with no end in sight.
That’s what spurred Gibson, who was brought on board to be a meaningful voice in the locker room, and Bridges to openly opine on the team’s current state.
“I think them talking to us, I think they both said what everybody is thinking,” Mark Williams said. “I think it just starts with us. We’ve got to be tougher, got to play harder. Just do all the things it takes to win. Just got to have some pride out there. I think we just lacked that tonight.”
Here’s how rough things were for the Hornets: Charles Lee went 11 deep into his rotation in the first quarter, an obvious attempt by the first-year coach to inject some juice and insert anyone who he thought could provide a modicum of a spark.
“(It) was one of those nights where it’s not about shooting, it’s not about offense,” Lee said. “Just try to impact winning. Try to play hard and compete and be the team we say we want to be, be the team that I thought showed up at practice (Sunday) and is obsessed with daily improvement.
“I just feel like that first half wasn’t a depiction of who we say we are and who we want to be. And so I just think we’ve got to kind of regroup and think about how we can go forward.”
The simple answer is: not this way. It’s not going to cut it and the Hornets know it. That’s their story at least and they’re sticking to it.
At this point, though, actual results and action mean much more than words. Particularly with the frequency of the same issues cropping up again and again — like what happened against the Rockets.
“We didn’t do anything — we didn’t communicate, we weren’t physical,” Bridges said. “That’s not Hornets’ basketball. It starts with the physicality, communication. … We’ve just got to be better defensively.”
Said Lee: “Come out and be a little more physical, a little more competitive. Try to do something to add some resistance to the other team.”
Sounds rather straightforward, but it’s all about putting those words into action. And if that doesn’t happen soon, the Hornets are going to be searching for answers to the query on the minds of many who follow the team: why are these games happening to the Hornets so frequently and how can they reverse the troubling trend?
“I guess that’s the question, right?” Williams said. “It’s not like we are going out there and not trying to win. The stuff to do is simple, but it’s not easy. Executing our game plan … I think we all know what to do, it’s just actually doing it. I just think we need to do a better job of that — finding it within. The whole team.”
Brandon Miller update
That guy in the red sweatsuit sitting in the second row behind the Hornets’ bench wasn’t Saint Nick catching some NBA action before sliding down a few chimneys in a little over 24 hours.
Brandon Miller sat out for the third straight game, marking the second time this season the Rockets didn’t have to worry about him carving them up offensively or getting into people defensively. Remember, Miller strained his glute in the season opener in Houston during the first half and exited early.
He avoided the injury bug until coming up gimpy with a sprained left ankle in the Hornets’ loss to Philadelphia on and hasn’t been able to go since. Initial optimism about Miller’s potential availability waned once he was downgraded from questionable to out prior to their outing in Washington — which came three days after getting injured against the 76ers.
But apparently, Miller is on the mend and graduated to the next step in his rehabilitation process, which is an encouraging sign for the second-year swingman. Sounds like he’s close to a return.
“Making good progress, I would say,” Lee said. “The last couple days he’s rejoined some group activities that we’ve had. I think he’s really making good progress. After the game, we’ll continue to evaluate him and see where he is maybe after Christmas.”
This story was originally published December 23, 2024 at 10:55 PM.
