Three games, three defeats. What we learned in the Hornets’ preseason loss to Boston
The second loss in four nights was in the books when Mason Plumlee began looking ahead to the Charlotte Hornets’ next preseason outing, which just so happened to be against the same team that clobbered them in Boston to begin the week.
“It’s a really great opportunity because we’ve played them and I think what would be great to see is improvement,” Plumlee said 48 hours before the Hornets took on the Celtics, “and kind of digesting the first game, taking advantage of what we saw from the first game. I really like that we are playing them again and looking forward to the game.”
With Boston sitting the bulk of its starting unit, though, the Hornets couldn’t technically test things out against the Celtics’ top lineup and gauge the effectiveness. But after two rough defeats to tip off their preseason, they still needed something to at least feel good about heading into the final week of preseason preparations.
Friday night’s 112-103 loss to the Celtics at Greensboro Coliseum was a mixed bag.
With Kemba Walker seated midcourt in between two high-ranking Hornets’ officials — executive vice president and chief operating officer James Jordan and chief marketing officer Seth Bennett — Charlotte showed just how much work it has to do prior to the Oct. 19 regular-season opener in San Antonio.
“We’ve got to continue to put 48 minutes together,” Kelly Oubre said. “We put a good 24 together and then took a step back. But were still learning, we’re still getting in shape. We’re still growing within the organization. So we just have to watch the film and assess from there.”
There were things to like: Such as the nine forced turnovers in the first quarter, which was more than they accumulated in any quarter during the 2021-22 regular season, and 14 overall in the first half.
On the opposite of the spectrum: Even with the Celtics missing several key players, the Hornets couldn’t put them away when they had their better players on the floor. But they chose to look at the bright side of their third defeat.
“We had a lot of good, sustained segments of good defense, but we are not disciplined,” coach Steve Clifford said. “We are running around, over-helping. Things like that we have to clean up because in this league that stuff’s going to kill you. And that led to some open threes. But (it was) our best defensive game, too. So definitely better.”
Here are three things we learned in the Hornets’ second loss to the Celtics:
Hot LaMelo, better tempo
LaMelo Ball came out sizzling and turned in his best overall performance over the past week, leaving an imprint of things with an efficient first quarter. He totaled 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, connecting on all but one of his trio of 3-point attempts.
Ball nearly had as many points as the Celtics in the early going, pouring in 15 of the Hornets’ initial 32 points to push them to a 15-point advantage. He also accounted for two-thirds of the Hornets’ points through the initial 8:07 of the second quarter, posting four assists, and creating 10 points off of them, to go with his lone bucket.
He set the tempo and pushed the pace more than in the first two games, which was exactly what Clifford wanted.
“Just still trying to play fast, still trying to get the hang of each other,” said Ball, who finished with 23 points, nine assists and four rebounds before fouling out. “Definitely trying to (employ) the fast stuff and get that going for us.
“Before the game, we knew we were running, we kind of knew we were playing with each other for a little, for like two more games now. So I think we are just getting the hang of it a little more now.”
Kemba thinks he can still contribute
There was a special guest who got noticed immediately upon his arrival.
Kemba Walker arrived after the game began and made his way to courtside, drawing cheers from the boisterous crowd. Walker was placed on the video board prior to halftime and got introduced by public address announcer Big Pat.
Walker flashed a grin and was prodded by James Jordan to stand up and acknowledge the audience during his lengthy ovation once he was introduced as the Hornets’ all-time leading scorer.
“It was dope,” Walker said. “It was pretty unexpected to get the love that I’ve gotten since I’ve been here has been special. And it feels good to feel that love to be honest. I haven’t felt it in a while. It felt good.”
Walker technically remains property of Detroit. He said the Pistons approached him about a buyout, but the two sides haven’t been able to reach an agreement. So he’s currently in limbo, but is confident he can still play at an elite level.
“I’ve got something in the tank for sure,” Walker said. “I’m just grinding and trying to feel as good as I can. And right now I feel great. I feel as great as I’ve felt in a long time. I’m just waiting for my opportunity.”
And he insists doesn’t care whether that’s as a reserve or starter.
“I just want to be able to play basketball again,” Walker said. “I don’t care. I started my career off playing basketball coming off the bench. Who cares? I just want to be able to play ball like I love to do, be around some great, great teammates and just have fun.”
Walker admitted it’s a weird time for him, given he’s not in camp. It’s not something he’s used to and it’s probably why he was so happy to see so many people he’s familiar with in his last two organizations.
He genuinely enjoyed his days in Charlotte with the Hornets and didn’t rule out an eventual return to potentially finish his career where it all began in 2011.
“That would be special,” Walker said. “That would be special. As far as closing my career, I’ve still got a few years left in my opinion. I’m not thinking about that yet. But yeah, we’ll see. I’m just waiting. Ain’t nobody reach out to me, so we are just waiting.”
Musical rotational chairs
Having three players out for the second straight game meant the Hornets were without their full roster yet again and certain lineup combinations couldn’t be utilized. That has made it difficult to assess how certain players would fare while on the floor with others.
Clifford elected to switch it up to get a closer peek at Mark Williams.
The rookie center was on the court with mostly reserves in the first two games, but he was inserted in the third quarter when the Hornets had Ball, Kelly Oubre, PJ Washington and James Bouknight on the floor. It was part of Clifford’s plan to give Williams a chance with some of the starters, who’ve had some extensive action over the past week even when it’s not on game night.
Williams had a good showing, posting seven points, seven rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes.
“I thought the longer he played the better he did,” Clifford said. “So he’s been better and better in practice. (Of) the things you have to do as a ‘5’ man, the biggest one is pick-and-rolls with ‘5.’ Because ‘5’ men set a good majority of them. And you have to be able to know what the coverage is, make the call early, do your job. You don’t have to do that in college at nearly the same speed.
“Mark’s very bright and he’s also very mobile, so I think those are things that he’ll be really good at. But it takes time.”
This story was originally published October 7, 2022 at 11:18 PM with the headline "Three games, three defeats. What we learned in the Hornets’ preseason loss to Boston."
