Coming off a win on national television, it was easy for the Hornets to have a let down game. Yes, the Lakers didn’t have LeBron James or Anthony Davis, but they still had Russell Westbrook, veterans, and a lot of fans in the Spectrum Center. The Hornets showed a lack of focus – almost letting the Lakers steal the game late and unfortunately that trend continued today against the other team from Los Angeles. The Clippers were without Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, but Ty Lue’s squad plays hard and is in 7th place in the Western Conference. Lue has become, arguably, one of the three best coaches in the NBA and his Clippers played with more effort and energy than the Hornets – beating them 115-90. The Clippers were able to separate themselves at the end of the 3rd quarter and 4th quarter – outscoring the Hornets 31-14. Charlotte started the fourth with a lineup that featured James Bouknight, Ish Smith, Terry Rozier, Cody Martin, and Mason Plumlee and the Clippers were able to extend their lead to 16 within a few minutes. The Hornets were never able to make it interesting after that point. Here are some observations from today’s game.
The Hornets Miss Kelly Oubre and Gordon Hayward:
The Hornets are thin at the wing position without Gordon Hayward and Kelly Oubre. Hayward is a veteran presence who does little things that don’t always show up on the stat sheet. Oubre brings grit and edge, whether he is starting or coming off the bench. The Hornets used only eight players before garbage time, and the bench only scored 20 points. PJ Washington was 3-14 and Bouknight was 3-9 from the floor. Oubre and Hayward average 17 points a game. The Hornets missed these two players.
Stars Struggle:
The Hornets needed their stars to play well today, but they struggled. Miles Bridges was only 6-19 from the floor, LaMelo Ball was 8-19, and Terry Rozier was 4-14. The trio often looked lackadaisical and out of sorts. As a team, the Hornets were only 33% from the floor and 23% from three.
Tough Sledding Ahead:
We are in the dog days of the NBA season. The period between Christmas day and the All-Star break is a grind for NBA Players and the Hornets aren’t any different. Charlotte will have to muster up better effort and focus in the next 19 days before the All-Star break. Charlotte has games against Boston, Cleveland, Miami, Toronto, Chicago, Memphis, Minnesota and Miami again – all of whom are playoff or play-in-tournament teams. Cleveland, Miami and Chicago are ahead of the Hornets in the East and the Grizzlies are third in the West. If the Hornets are going to move into the top six they are going to have to pull a string of wins off before the break. Losing a game today against the Clippers hurts, but Charlotte is still in a position to make a move – just with a smaller margin for error.
Charlotte takes on the Celtics in Boston on Wednesday.