Kon Knueppel details his whirlwind month, which saw him win Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month and appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Knueppel admits to being nervous about the late-night appearance but calls being on the show a "cool experience." He stresses the need for the team to stick to their habits and "get better as a collective unit." By DIAMOND VENCES
That third straight win remains elusive for the Charlotte Hornets.
For the second time this season, the Hornets couldn’t build on a two-game winning streak, instead losing to the Detroit Pistons 112-86 at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night.
In falling in the opener of their short road trip to the Great Lakes region, rookie Kon Knueppel closed the gap on etching his name into NBA lore. After sinking 4 of 10 3-pointers against the Pistons, he’s now only one make shy of becoming the fastest player in league history to connect on 100 shots beyond the arc.
He just has to have one go through the net within his nex1 10 outings, which seems pretty feasible for someone who entered the night having hit 40.9% already.
Jaden Ivey of the Detroit Pistons gets a shot off after taking a foul from Josh Green (10) of the Charlotte Hornets during the first half at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Gregory Shamus Getty Images
Still, not even the long-range shooting of Knueppel — who paced the Hornets with a team-high tying 19 points — could pull the Hornets out of their malaise against Detroit.
And LaMelo Ball, coming off one of his best performances of the season, was hounded by foul trouble, collecting his fifth nearly midway through the third quarter and forced to watch from the bench as the Hornets (9-19) dropped into a hole as large as 20 points.
Ball fouled out with 6:30 remaining, having missed his final 10 attempts from the floor. By then, the Hornets were down 17 to the Pistons (22-6) and already preparing to wave the white flag leading into Monday night’s matchup in Cleveland.
“It was a great test for our team, I think physically and mentally,” coach Chatles Lee said. “Where’s your toughness level? You are going on the road, you are playing a team that prides themselves on being a physical and tough team. And I thought we did a good job at times.
“But offensively, you’ve got to be a little stronger with the ball, you’ve got to be more decisive with your passes. Defensively, we’ve got to finish a couple of those chances and not give up some second-chance points.”
Here’s what the Hornets said of note in Detroit:
On what happened:
“We tried to keep our physicality up,” Miles Bridges said, “and at the end of the day they were just more physical than us, and it showed in the turnovers, their fast breaks, and they scored a lot of points in the paint. So, they were more physical than us.”
On making sure they play unselfishly:
“I do think, sometimes, as a young group, when we get down everyone wants to do it themselves,” Lee said. “And we’ve got to continue to trust the pass even in those tough moments.”
On what goes wrong when the paint defense isn’t clicking:
“I think so far, I think that Chicago game stands out in my mind of the inability to protect the paint,” Lee said. “And to us … it just felt like the guy on the ball, our most important guy, (was) not physical enough, not really keying in on tendencies as well as they usually do. And then the shift activity around it wasn’t really as connected as we needed.
Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons tries to get a shot off next to LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets during the first half at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Gregory Shamus Getty Images
“And I will say, since that game, I think the whole group collectively has embraced the challenge of number one, the guy on the ball, having more individual pride, being a little bit more locked in on tendencies. And then I see the shift of activity around it. Especially just understanding who you’re guarding to either get deflections, get rearview contests, the connected defense has been a lot better to protect the paint.”
On whether defense will be emphasis to put franchise on winning path:
“I would say for us, we try to build our identity on being an elite two-way team. It starts with our veteran players, our leaders — Brandon (Miller), Melo and Miles (Bridges) — have kind of set a tone of that’s what we want to be. And I fully support that. And I think everyone around them, when they lead by example, it becomes contagious with our group and as you’re seeing in the NBA, there’s a wealth of offensive talent and skill and everyone’s able to score the ball.
“But if you want to be able to pull out wins even when you are not shooting well, you’ve got to rely on your defense. And I think that it’s got to be a mindset for our group going forward as we continue to build winning habits is that it’s not all about offense. There are other ways to impact the game, and the defensive side of the ball really gives us a great chance to be able to win games.”
On how to get back on track:
“We just beat this Cleveland team,” Bridges said, “so we’ve just got to go out and have the same road mindset, same road mentality. Don’t play like we played (Saturday).”