Recap/Analysis: Hornets finish summer league with 4-1 record after win over Nets – At The Hive

Brandon Slater scored a game high 30 points as an undermanned Charlotte Hornets defeated the Brooklyn Nets, 97-90.

The Summary

The Hornets rested their two best performers across the summer league so far–Zavier Simpson and Matt Morgan. Still, they jumped out to an early lead thanks to a hot start from Jake Stephens. The Nets answered with their own run to play out an even first quarter. The Hornets ratcheted up the defensive intensity and got out on the break to start the second. Brandon Slater got a couple of those transition opportunities, which helped him find the rhythm he needed to hit a few corner threes. He scored 21 points in the first half, and the Hornets led by two at the break.

Slater and Raequan Battle hit back to back threes to start the second half and give the Hornets their largest lead of the game. The Hornets used the second half to filter in players that hadn’t gotten a chance to play much through that point in the summer league. They ceded that lead, just like in the first half, which set up for a competitive finish. Pedro Bradshaw and Kevin Cross hit a pair of threes to create some breathing room, and the Hornets were able to maintain that distance for the remainder of the game.

The Good

The culture. We’ll talk about this in more depth later on At the Hive, but this entire summer league experience has been a great jumping off for the new culture head coach Charles Lee is trying to instill. The team played a winning style of basketball, and the front office clearly targeted players that play the style they want. The grit and selflessness was a joy to watch, and it was obvious that a lot of thought was put into the construction of the team. The whole varsity squad came out to support, and it feels like the team is fully bought in.

Brandon Slater found a way to leave a good final impression after a…poor summer league up to this point. Prior to this game, he was shooting 6-of-32 (18.8%) from the field and 2-of-23 (8.7%) from three over seven appearances. He scored 30 points on 10-of-16 from the field and 6-of-9 from three. He forced a couple of turnovers defensively that led to fast break opportunities. That seemed to help him find the rhythm he needed. In the first seven games, most of his shots felt awkwardly timed and more “I need to shoot because I haven’t shot in a while” then real good shots. It was good to see him find his groove for a game before the team breaks for the summer.

Jake Stephens has been a really good summer league find and will hopefully be a fixture on the Swarm next season. He’s not a great rim protector, but his positional defense has been sound. He’s been a great offensive player to make up for those defensive limitations. He showed his ability to score on the block and from three and dished four assists.

Pedro Bradshaw got his first real minutes of summer league and made his presence felt. he made a couple of threes and brought a bunch of energy to the defensive end of the floor.

The Bad

Nick Smith Jr. ended his summer league with a whimper. After a four point outing on Friday, he mustered just two points in a half of action in the finale. He turned the ball over four times and hijacked quite a few early possessions with too much dribbling and bad decisions. He had some bright moments, but in totality, it probably wasn’t the summer league the second year pro was hoping to have.

Speaking of disappointing summer league performances from second year players, Leaky Black scored 0, 0, and 2 points in the last three games. He’s never going to be expected to be a scorer and he did well at the things we know he can do well, but you’d like to see him find a few more opportunities to make plays in the summer environment.

What’s Next

The Hornets will break for the summer. They’ll reconvene in an official capacity when training camp opens on the first day of October.