Hornets created a mess with Sunday’s loss; do they have a comeback left in them?
Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego is prone to saying “We have enough” whenever he’s asked about this team’s depth.
He hasn’t dropped that line much lately, and it’s apparent why: They don’t have enough, and won’t until at least one of the three significant injuries/illnesses heal.
Sunday was a crushing loss. The Hornets fell at home, 112-110, to the New Orleans Pelicans, a team headed for the draft lottery. Had they won, the Hornets would have clinched at least a spot in the play-in tournament and would have been two wins (or two Washington Wizards losses) from clinching eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
There is a huge difference between eighth and ninth under the play-in format. Finish seventh or eighth, and you have two chances to win one game to advance to the playoffs. Finish ninth or 10th, and you’re in lose-one-and-you’re-out mode.
Terry Rozier was in full-on “Scary Terry” persona Sunday, scoring a career-high 43 points. But he had virtually no help. With the Pelicans swarming Rozier the entire fourth quarter, the Hornets scored just 14 points in that frame, shooting 5 of 16 from the field and 1 of 5 from 3-point range.
“Every time I came off a down screen or a ball screen, they were up” in Rozier’s face with multiple defenders, Rozier described. “That’s what I’m going to see the rest of the season.”
Then, Rozier added, “When we get fully healthy, it will be tougher for teams to do that. We’ll be more unpredictable.”
Fully healthy? Is that even possible?
Borrego is running out of choices. Sunday, he was shuffling Jalen McDaniels, Caleb Martin, Malik Monk and Brad Wanamaker to find some complement to Rozier, LaMelo Ball and P.J. Washington.
The Hornets have taken hit upon hit in the injury/illness department. Gordon Hayward (foot sprain) and Miles Bridges (COVID-19 protocols) are out, with no clarity in when they will return. Devonte Graham had been listed as questionable for this game, but missed his fourth in a row with right knee discomfort.
It has reached a point where Borrego doesn’t get many media questions about the absences because there’s nothing left to answer. How many times can you say, “I don’t know.”
Had any one of those three played Sunday, the Hornets win. No one took the pressure off Rozier to make all the big shots Sunday. It’s telling that Rozier mentioned “more unpredictable,” because in their current state, this team is easy to scout.
If Washington doesn’t make a bunch of 3-pointers (he was 2 of 6 Sunday), then the opposing center doesn’t have to leave the paint defensively. New Orleans’ Jaxson Hayes blocked three fourth-quarter shots Sunday, and gummed up all the dribble-drive excellence Ball often provides. Ball had two points, an assist and two turnovers in the fourth.
The one complimentary player I expected more from was Monk. He was 2 of 10 in 22 minutes Sunday, missing all three shots in the fourth quarter. Borrego kept playing him because who else would was enough of a jump-shooting threat to spread the Pelicans’ defense?
Losses and consequences
Winning Sunday would have been a haven. Now, they need the ninth-place Washington Wizards to lose, and Wizards just might with Bradley Beal hurt and their next two against the Atlanta Hawks.
But the Hornets’ schedule gets rough: Home games Tuesday and Thursday against the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers, then on the road against the New York Knicks and Wizards.
I’m still confident the Hornets qualify for the play-in. I’m not at all confident, after Sunday’s loss, that they retain eighth place.
Rozier made a plea post-game for urgency: Not just to avoid slipping to ninth, but to rev up for the biggest challenge of the season that awaits.
“These last four games we have left, we have to treat it like (part of) the play-in,” Rozier said.
“Take it serious, and just keep building. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s going to prepare us for what we have going.”
Hopefully, still have going.
