If you wanted to define the 1st half of Hornets-Celtics, the only word that should spring to mind is turnover.
The Charlotte Hornets coughed up the ball fourteen times in the first half, calling that less than ideal is an insult to less than ideal. Some of it was Boston imposing their will on defense, some of it was players committing mind-boggling turnovers (looking at you Royce O’Neale).
Even if you’re missing four rotation guys (Kon, Grayson, Grant, Coby), you cannot cough up that many turnovers. You’re not outscoring that kind of offensive hijinks. Especially when that number ends up being closer to 30 than 10. When you’re generating turnovers of the self-inflicted version to make Pillsbury jealous, you have a problem.
That said, I’m not worried too too much from this performance for a few reasons. Primarily, because the Celtics are going to do this to a lot of teams. They’re built with one of the best wings in basketball (Tatum) and a bunch of players that have no problem getting grimy on defense (White, Pritchard, Walsh) and burying you with three’s.
This is also the worst possible matchup for the Charlotte Hornets, Boston is a team that is detail oriented, focused and battle tested. Oh and they now have two bigs that can expose Moussa’s limitations (Mitchell Robinson, Neemias Queeta) and can effectively neutralize what makes the Hornets special on most nights.
Where I AM concerned is that this Boston game was the first test since Orlando in dealing with a team that requires you to play through the whistle and ignore whether or not you’re getting calls. The Hornets clearly failed that test, and I would add, quite miserably failed that test. This team needs to understand that no one is coming to save you in games like this, it’s up to you to get it out of the mud.
Let’s hope they learn that lesson soon.
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Maybe we slotted the wrong rookie to Greensboro, Part 1: Christian Anderson being the first one off the bench in this game should’ve been the first clue that he’d put on a show. Perhaps many of us were entirely too jaded because we saw this young man go ghost in Vegas amongst people who mostly were going to fill G-League teams or head overseas to Europe.
Note to self: If we want to properly evaluate rookies, perhaps do it when there’s other legit NBA talent around him.
Because Christian Anderson looks like the kid I saw in Lubbock last year and especially the one I saw that took down Duke in effectively a home game against them at MSG. Ten points on 4 of 8 shooting while being okay on and off ball AND competing on the other side of the ball despite not being strong enough or really knowing what to do as an NBA defender yet.
I’m not saying he’s in the rotation, but as a friend pointed out to me (and he’s right), we saw Sion James stick in the rotation simply because he gave a damn and competed defensively on every possession. It wouldn’t shock me if the same thing happened with Christian eventually.Brandon Miller’s Big Third Quarter: For two and a half quarters, Brandon Miller was largely ineffective. These are the pains that come with growing into being the first sentence of the scouting report.
Then the third quarter happened, and Brandon who was still hunting for his shot, finally found some success. First it was getting fouled on a three-pointer by Paul George. Then it was him burying a three off the dribble. Next thing you know the Hornets are on a run and Brandon Miller finishes the quarter with 12 points.
There’s going to be a rush to judge what his season is going to be (even moreso when he gets his extension), but I think people need to slow down on what this kid can do for now and we can all reassess what this is in May.Tidjane keeps stacking plays: Again possibly being the number one Tidjane Salaun PR agent on the internet, Tidjane might have done enough to earn the spot on the roster.
16 points on 5 for 9 shooting from the field, solid defensive plays (not without their warts) and his best non-Toronto Raptors game of the season. Defensively, he’s looked good and very versatile on the perimeter so far this preseason, tonight was the first time the shot started falling.Maybe we slotted the wrong rookie to Greensboro, Part 2: I really want to believe in Hannes, it just all looks a step slow at the moment. That’s not his fault, this is the NBA and this comes for a lot of rookies (just ask Tidjane). The best part is that there is the Greensboro Swarm and he can get acclimated to the game speed and sets and eventually challenge Kalkbrenner for the backup center spot.
Get better soon, Hannes, I fear the team is going to need it shortly.
Onto (Walkin In) Memphis!