The Charlotte Hornets had almost as many turnovers as made shots in a blowout loss to the Pistons.
The Summary
LaMelo hit a pair of threes right out of the gate to put the Hornets ahead. They lost that lead via a bunch of transition buckets from the Pistons off of their turnovers. They trailed by six after Brandon Miller was called for basket interference trying to tip dunk a Tre Mann layup that was about to go in after the buzzer. The second quarter was not for the faint of heart. At one point the teams were a combined 5-of-28 from the field in the quarter. The Hornets briefly held a lead, but the Pistons scored the last 13 points of the half as the Hornets struggled with their what we’ll call “physical” defense.
Duncan Robinson hit a few quick triples while the Hornets’ struggles on the offensive end continued. The Pistons led by as many as 20. Kon Knueppel hit a three and got to the line a few times to stabilize his team. A little run capped off by three Brandon Miller pulled the Hornets back within seven heading into the fourth.
The Pistons started pulling away as the fourth quarter went on while the Hornets got increasingly bothered by the “physicality” of the Pistons and the way the whistles were going. Eventually the game turned into a laugher and a layup line as the turnovers piled up and the Pistons kept scoring on runouts.
The Good
Josh Green was really good off the bench. He was credited with three steals and got his hands on a lot more loose balls than that. He didn’t contribute a lot statistically but his energy and effort were badly needed in a game where the Pistons had a big advantage there. It was not a coincidence that he finished the game with a plus-minus of +12.
The Bad
Absolute howler of a game for the zebras. I know it’s corny to talk about a loss in the context of officiating, but it was brutal in this game. The Pistons were allowed to grab and pull both off the ball and even when guarding on the ball. The Hornets threw a lot of wild shots at the rim where they looked like they were doing running back drills on their way to the basket. It was kind of like the Pistons employ the old “they can’t call a foul on every play” mentality. It felt like the Hornets were called for a number of fouls for simply trying to defend themselves from Pistons contact. I think most Pistons games look like that, and it’s no surprise teams struggle with them.
None of the Hornets key players shot the ball well and all of them turned the ball over too much. It would be unfair to single any one of them out.
What’s Next
The Hornets take on another Eastern Conference contender when they visit the Cavaliers.