The Charlotte Hornets couldn’t dribble, shoot, nor pass as they dropped a game to the Toronto Raptors.
The Summary
The Hornets found themselves in an early hole that they dig themselves into. Turnovers and poor rebounding let the Raptors go on a couple of sizable runs throughout the first quarter. When that quarter ended, the visitors had already fallen behind by 12 points.
The Hornets gradually climbed back into the game during a sloppy second quarter. They struggled to move the ball without Raptors getting their claws on it, but they manufactured enough stops and buckets to cut a deficit that was as large as 13 to as little as one. Rosanne Salaün had a couple nifty layups in the run. Mark Williams, who hit a shot-clock-beating 18 footer during the run, hit a turnaround jumper at the horn to set the halftime score at 49-47.
Miles Bridges created a step back three for himself off the dribble to give the Hornets a lead one possession into the second half. It was the spark for a hot offensive start from both teams, but the Hornets burned out much faster than their counterpart. The visitors got stuck on 60 points for over three-and-a-half minutes while turnovers and other deflected balls derailed their offense. The eventually got back on track and went back to trading baskets with the Raptors, but by that point they were in about a 10-12 point deficit.
The Hornets crushed the Raptors on the glass in the fourth quarter, but that doesn’t do much good if you don’t make the extra shots you earn. They put up a fight defensively; DaQuan Jeffries and Josh Green made a few real nice plays on that end. But again, shots have to go in on the other end. They could never cut into the deficit, and a Jamal Shead three around the two minute mark put the Raptor up 14 and felt like the dagger.
The Good
Admin knows ball. From the preview:
Poeltl went for 24 and 12 while shooting 86% from the field.
Tidjane Salaün had a handful of nifty, coordinated finishes at the rim. He tacked on 14 rebounds in just 24 minutes of play. It was probably one of his better games as a Hornet.
KJ Simpson has looked like something lately. He’s been handling the ball with more confidence than he was earlier in the season, which is allowing him to be productive despite his struggles shooting the ball from deep. He shot it well Friday night and tried to yam on the whole Raptors team at one point. He’s going to get a lot more burn with LaMelo out. It’s a good chance for him to build some confidence heading into the offseason.
Mark Williams made a pair of tough jumpers in the first half. He’s got a good looking stroke and is a good free throw shooter. I’d like to see him attempt some threes down the stretch. If he can add that, he’ll make the Hornets a nightmare to cover offensively. He’s already routinely putting up huge offensive numbers, adding a 9-of-9 shooting night with five assists on Friday. Though to be fair, three of those were dunks in what was effectively garbage time.
DaQuan Jeffries was pretty good once again, especially in the first half.
The Bad
I didn’t think Mark Williams was entirely responsible for Poeltl’s stat line since a lot of Poeltl’s points were fed to him when Williams was helping off. That said, I think Mark can do a significantly better job being a help side presence without completely abandoning his man behind him. He has enough length that he can play a little cat and mouse with ball handlers and leave them guessing as to how much he’s going to impede their path to the rim. As he plays right now, opposing teams should know it’s a free a two points if they see Mark helping and look for their big.
Nick Smith Jr has some infuriating defensive lapses, most notably biting at pump fakes as a guy that has 13 career blocks. There was one particular moment when the Raptors were on their third quarter run where he went leaping past a pump faking, career 34% 3-point shooting, 6’10” Orlando Robinson, and it ended in an easy Raptors bucket. His offense has had its moments, but he needs to play significantly more intelligent defense given his size and athletic limitations. The 2-of-14 shooting in the game doesn’t look great either.
Miles Bridges had an awful, awful game. After he got off to a rough start, you could tell he was trying to force the issue a bit trying to get going. Let’s kick to Bridges for his evaluation on his performance:
Miles Bridges on IG: pic.twitter.com/xAUqdZxmGq
— Buzz (@buzz_szn) March 29, 2025
Every now and then there’s an online conversation that goes semi-viral centered around the idea that your average Joe could score a few points in an NBA basketball game. There were parts of this game where the Hornets showed how ridiculous of an idea that is. When the Raptors dialed up their defensive pressure, the Hornets’ NBA players struggled to dribble or to even hold the ball at points without getting it knocked away by Raptor hands. Your 5’9″ weekend warrior pickup hooper couldn’t even look at the rim in an NBA game without turning the ball over. The Hornets finished the game with 17 turnovers, but that doesn’t really do justice to how much their offense got disrupted at times during the game.
What’s Next
Nine games to go. Up next is a trip down to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans later today.