A lousy shootaround led to an even worse game for Hornets

So maybe three days between games isn’t such a good thing for these Charlotte Hornets.

Wednesday was the first time this season they had played after a three-day break. They were flat and careless against the Orlando Magic, committing 16 turnovers in a 113-98 loss.

Don’t be fooled by the final score; the Hornets trailed by as many as 25 points.

Coach Steve Clifford saw this one coming. He told his players the Wednesday morning shootaround at Amway Center was the team’s worst of the season. They lacked focus and concentration in the walk-through, then looked just that disorganized in the first quarter, committing seven turnovers.

“You usually play like you prepare,” Clifford said.

This was as sloppy a game as the 14-10 Hornets have played all season. It wasn’t just that they gave away the ball; most of Charlotte’s turnovers were of the “live ball” variety, leading directly to made baskets at the other end.

The Magic converted 16 Charlotte turnovers into 25 Orlando points. Typically, one point for every opponent turnover is considered efficient in the NBA.

Four thoughts on one of the worst games this team has played this season:

It doesn’t get any easier Thursday

The Hornets have a challenging back-to-back, facing the Toronto Raptors at Time Warner Cable Arena Thursday. The Raptors were already in Charlotte before the Hornets-Magic game tipped off Orlando, as Toronto’s last game was Monday.

The Hornets have been solid so far this season in the second game on back-to-back nights, but their utter lack of execution and focus Wednesday makes you wonder how well they will bounce back.

There isn’t much room for error in the East

As new Magic coach Scott Skiles noted pre-game, “The East is so jammed up.”

By that, Skiles meant there are so many teams with viable playoff chances in the Eastern Conference. This loss dropped the Hornets from fourth to sixth in the conference standings. They are just a game better than the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks, who would have missed the playoffs as of 10 p.m. Thursday.

Nic Batum had an all-around rough night

Batum felt so ill in the third quarter he went back to the locker room for the rest of the game. Clifford said Batum felt ill at halftime but wanted to try to play through it.

Batum was already having a bad night. He committed four fouls in the 20 minutes he played and shot 2 of 7 from the field.

It will be interesting whether he’s up to playing against the Raptors and, if so, how effective he will be.

Hairston came to play

Though P.J. Hairston had two quick turnovers in the first quarter, overall he played well. He finished with a season-high 14 points, making five of 11 shots from the field and three of seven from 3-point range.

He didn’t start the second half because of a sore right foot, but when Batum left the game with four fouls, Hairston said he felt well enough to give it a try.

This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 10:43 PM with the headline "A lousy shootaround led to an even worse game for Hornets."