Remaining on 7 defeats in their last 8 games, the Hornets are in the trough. Their series of 10 wins in 13 games straddling December and January already seems a long way off…
With 29 wins for as many defeats, Charlotte is currently in 9th place in the Eastern Conference, synonymous with qualifying for the “play-in” but far from the ambitious objectives of the start of the season embodied by the recent All-Star selection of their young leader. , LaMelo Ball.
Frustration mounts
The latter, precisely, perfectly symbolized the frustration that is rising among the hornets at the moment. Considering himself aggrieved by a foul on a layup at the end of the burning match against Memphis the other night, he not only went to shout at one of the referees on the baseline, but he also violently pushed back James Bouknight and PJ Washington, his two teammates who came to calm him down…
The most prolific attack in the League with 113.8 points on average (but 11th in efficiency), the Hornets above all have the fastest pace in the NBA. And if they still play so fast, they only show the 23rd attack in terms of efficiency over the last 12 games. And since they are still only the 20th defense…
“We just have to play better than that”bluntly asserts James Borrego in the Charlotte Observer. “I don’t know if it’s a problem to play at home or to play away, but above all we have to play better than that. This is the root of the problem. We still have a lot of home games on the calendar and we have to play better, we have to start the games better above all. It is the objective. We can protect our ground as we did at the start of the season. We will find this mentality. »
With the 24th worst defense in the league since the start of the season (112.4 points conceded on 100 possessions), the Hornets can certainly make cards in attack, but their defense does not allow them to hold when the address is not at the appointment. In short, their balance is fragile. Right now it’s all the more precarious as Gordon Hayward (left ankle) is back in the infirmary, recently joined by Cody Martin (Achilles tendon) and Jalen McDaniels (ankle)…
With a trip to Minnesota on Wednesday before the reception of the Heat – which spanked them last Sunday (104-86), the Hornets want to stay level, namely at 50% victories, at the All-Star Break.
Finding the Forward Gear During the All-Star Break
“We learn on the job. I think these two days of rest are important, we will have two days to digest that and think about what we will want to do in our rotations for these next two games. continues James Borrego. “That’s what I’m focusing on now, these next two games. We’re going to have the All-Star Break afterwards and maybe we can get some players back. These two days will be useful and afterwards, we will be able to reset all that during the break. »
Like its leading players, like Ball who loses nearly 4 balls per game, or Miles Bridges and Kelly Oubre Jr. who can no longer find the target behind the arc in February (20% and 17% success respectively), the Hornets have a worse shot. These are things that happen in the NBA, especially for young teams.
“I think we just have to get back to it”adds Terry Rozier, one of the few Hornets to float (with 35 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists) against Memphis. “No matter what it means and no matter how people take it. An NBA season always has its ups and downs, and at home you just can’t win right now. »
Lacking rotations, the Hornets launched rookie JT Thor late in the game against the Grizzlies. The latter did not do too badly with 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 interception and 1 against. But it is above all the contribution of the latest recruit, Montrezl Harrell, the living incarnation of the energizer coming off the bench, which could help Charlotte to relaunch… at least on the offensive level
“Coming to North Carolina after all these years in the League is a real joy for me,” he assures. “We really want the fans to come see us play, support us and continue to be behind us. Because this energy in the room which allowed us to come back in the second half [face à Memphis], that’s what we need for the rest of the season. To try to keep pushing towards the playoffs. »
| Tirs | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Tirs | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Until | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Fte | Pts |
| Lamelo Ball | 51 | 32.4 | 42.7 | 37.3 | 86.7 | 1.6 | 5.4 | 7.0 | 7.5 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 3.1 | 20.1 |
| Miles Bridges | 56 | 35.9 | 48.2 | 30.7 | 80.0 | 1.2 | 5.9 | 7.0 | 3.6 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 19.7 |
| Terry Rozier | 49 | 33.5 | 43.1 | 36.5 | 81.0 | 0.8 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 18.8 |
| Montrezl Harrell | 2 | 25.7 | 82.4 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 2.5 | 5.0 | 7.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 17.5 |
| Kelly Oubre, Jr. | 52 | 28.4 | 44.0 | 34.3 | 68.7 | 1.1 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 16.3 |
| Gordon Hayward | 48 | 32.2 | 46.0 | 39.0 | 84.6 | 0.8 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 16.1 |
| P.j. Washington | 41 | 24.7 | 44.9 | 38.9 | 72.1 | 1.3 | 4.1 | 5.4 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 9.8 |
| Cody Martin | 49 | 27.2 | 45.4 | 41.0 | 67.1 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 8.0 |
| Mason Plumlee | 49 | 25.5 | 63.3 | 0.0 | 34.0 | 2.6 | 5.3 | 7.9 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 3.1 | 6.7 |
| Jalen Mcdaniels | 39 | 17.6 | 49.2 | 37.2 | 67.4 | 0.7 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 6.6 |
| James Bouknight | 27 | 10.7 | 35.3 | 34.7 | 87.1 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 5.2 |
| Ish Smith | 37 | 13.8 | 39.5 | 40.0 | 63.2 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 4.5 |
| Nick Richards | 41 | 8.4 | 67.9 | 0.0 | 73.2 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 3.4 |
| J.t. Thor | 17 | 8.5 | 38.9 | 28.6 | 70.0 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 2.4 |
| Vernon Carey, Jr. | 4 | 4.2 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 66.7 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 2.0 |
| Kai Jones | 17 | 2.8 | 63.6 | 50.0 | 25.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.9 |
| Scottie Lewis | 2 | 3.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Arnold Kulboka | 1 | 2.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
