NBA preseason is over: Here are three takeaways for the Hornets ahead of the season

Even though the results and overall statistics may not accurately suggest it, the main voice at the end of the Charlotte Hornets’ bench assured things were good before their preseason finale.

“I think that we are in a great place,” coach Steve Clifford said Thursday. “I think that we are much further along organizationally than we were a year ago just because we worked together for a year. So, that should help. I think that we’ve gotten great leadership from the veteran players.

“I just like the attitude, the approach. I feel like we’ve had a productive preseason.”

It’s over, thankfully, after the Hornets’ 127-99 loss to the Boston Celtics at the Spectrum Center. And the Hornets can finally truly begin looking ahead to their regular-season opener against Atlanta on Wednesday.

Putting too much stock in games that don’t technically matter in the grand scheme of things can be dangerous, but the Hornets can’t be too pleased with how they closed out their four-game preseason and got pounded by one of the teams considered to be a contender in the Eastern Conference. It’s a balancing act and can be tricky on occasion.

“That’s the whole point of preseason, to learn and get into a rhythm to get ready for game one against Atlanta,” Mark Williams said. “Obviously, the wins and losses don’t count, but you can take away something from those games. Tonight, I think the physicality piece was what we needed to learn.”

Indeed, there are plenty of issues to correct and that’s at the top of the Hornets’ to-do list. Hitting the glass harder and with more efficiency is a necessity.

That was an area of concern in Clifford’s first full season back in charge, and with the Hornets finishing 27th in defensive rebounding in 2022-23, he doesn’t want it to be an issue again.

“The key thing is what the response is,” Clifford said. “We have six days to get ready. Things have to change quickly. We have to get a level of physicality with our guys, And our ‘5’ men have got to own the glass at both ends of the floor. And they’re both capable of doing it, and it starts with having the right intent with what you’re concentrating on and what you’re prioritize. We need them to do it, and we need the other guys to help out in that area.”

Williams accepts the challenge.

“He’s not wrong,” Williams said. “We did a good job in our first couple of preseason games, but especially tonight we didn’t do a good job on the glass. And that’ll start with me and Nick (Richards). We are definitely going to learn from this and make sure it’s a point of emphasis — to dominate the glass every night, because that will give us a better chance to win game-to-game.”

Richards isn’t about to overreact, though.

“I think this was the only one of the games that me and Mark didn’t have nine-plus rebounds,” Richards said. “So, I think it was just one of those nights. I don’t think it’s something for us to put our heads down or think that it’s over. We weren’t as physical as we were the first three preseason games and preseason is over right now, so the main thing starts in a week and we’ve got some time to figure it out.”

With the preseason complete, here are three things we learned about the Hornets:

Gordon Hayward is good to go

Clifford tapped on the podium.

When it was brought to his attention how the Hornets have been relatively healthy for the better part of the first few weeks, he couldn’t help but knock on something. After all, given Charlotte’s injury-ravaged campaign last season, who could blame him?

“Yeah, I mean you can’t control that but so far we’ve been pretty lucky,” Clifford said. “And hopefully that will continue.”

Unscathed for the most part, they got some good news when Gordon Hayward returned against the Celtics after missing the Hornets’ middle two preseason games due to right knee discomfort. Hayward fully participated in Charlotte’s three practices leading into their outing with Boston, paving the path for him to log some minutes for the first time since the Hornets’ preseason opener in Miami.

Nothing was wrong with Hayward’s lift against Boston. He nearly had a tip dunk in the second quarter, but got fouled in the act.

“He hasn’t played and he’s getting his rhythm back,” Clifford said. “He did some good things.”

The Hornets aren’t at full strength, though. Frank Ntilikina left early in the fourth quarter with a hyperextended left knee and had to be assisted off the court by Joe Sharpe, the Hornets’ director of healthcare and sports performance. James Bouknight (left knee surgery), Théo Maledon (right shoulder sprain), Cody Martin (left knee soreness) and Bryce McGowens (left ankle sprain) are still nursing ailments, and McGowens was the lone one to get on the court in any of the four outings.

But they have nearly six full days to heal up before the opener with the Hawks, and if Ntilikina can’t go and serve as LaMelo Ball’s backup, the Hornets may have to go another route to spell their starting guards.

“We can play Brandon there, we can play Gordon there, we can play JT (Thor) more,” Clifford said. “Hopefully, Frank’s (injury) isn’t a big deal. But we’d probably play bigger.”

Brandon Miller is impressing

Preseason was an educational experience for Brandon Miller and the Hornets’ prized rookie had to be a quick study in a variety of areas. He found out the hard way what many who’ve spent many a day in the Hornets’ home building already know: penguins in igloos are warmer than any patron in the stands.

“It was definitely cold in the arena,” Miller said. “It was so cold. My toes were freezing. Everything was freezing.”

Except the takes, along with the early perception surrounding Miller. He’s shown he can fit in and contribute in various ways immediately, drawing positive reviews from everybody.

The Hornets genuinely think the No. 2 overall pick in June is coming along nicely.

“He’s been terrific,” Clifford said. “He’s already made good progress. If you saw him in summer league, I know for me, I think that I underestimated how significant his mono had been. If you watch him there, he’s gained a lot of weight back. I think he feels a lot better. He’s got great size, great IQ. He’s a very good worker, so he’s made good progress already.”

Miller, from every indication, has distinguished himself with a hard-nosed work ethic.

“The most impressive thing I would say is his approach,” Clifford said. “You can tell he played in a great program, he’s been coached, I’m sure a lot of it too was his dad’s background as an athlete. He understands the correlation between working hard and playing well.

“But he picks things up very quickly. Schemes, plays, he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes for a young player and obviously he can make a lot of plays, too. It’s going to be exciting to watch him grow over these next few weeks.”

LaMelo Ball is fine

Judging by how he looked in the preseason, it’s hard to believe LaMelo Ball didn’t get cleared for full contact until recently.

He’s maneuvering around just fine on his surgically repaired ankle, showing no ill effects whatsoever. Whether it’s driving hard into the lane trying to finish at the rim or dishing it off to a teammate, Ball isn’t thinking twice about his movement on the court. There was one play in particular in the third quarter against the Celtics, where he turned out to be a one-man fast break and tossed in a circus scoop shot while getting fouled.

It’s flowing naturally for Ball, which is precisely what the Hornets were hoping for given their star point guard hasn’t been able to complete Charlotte’s past two preseasons due to pesky ankle injuries.

“Yeah, it’s good,” Williams said. “To have an All-Star level player like that on the floor is great for us. He’s finding all the guys and making the right plays. So to have a guy like that on your team, you can’t ask for anything else.”