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The Charlotte Hornets’ recent positive momentum is dissipating, some might say understandably so.
The Hornets are down two starters thanks to suspensions. One of their top backup big men sat out Friday night due to load management, causing some unorthodox lineups. And they came out of the All-Star break squaring off against two teams that sit among the top four seeds in their respective conferences.
But, in dropping a 118-113 decision to the Cleveland Cavaliers at Spectrum Center on Friday, the Hornets are headed in the wrong direction. They’ve lost three of their past four games and the firm grip they seemingly held in the play-in tournament picture has grown slightly tenuous.
Concerns don’t abound, though.
“Honestly, I feel like we’re playing pretty decently,” Kon Knueppel said. “(Thursday) I didn’t think we played our best game, just in regards to taking care of the ball and just offensively, “But in all honesty, I think the way we’re competing on the defensive end and on the glass is really keeping us in these games. So from a competitive standpoint, I think we’re really bringing it. It’s just two tough, close losses to two really good teams right out of the All-Star break.”
How can they get it going again until they’re fully whole again?
Brandon Miller has his theory.
“I think just (doing) what’s been working,” Miller said. “Playing to our strengths, the pace, I think that’s what’s gotten us the wins in the past. So, just as long as we pick up our pace and our physicality and just play smarter, I think we’ll be good.”
That rebound will have to come on the road.
Trips to Washington, Chicago and Indianapolis loom for the Hornets (26-31) before they return home next weekend. By then, there’s a good chance they could have the majority of their roster intact with the return of Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate, along with the recently-acquired Coby White.
In the meantime, there’s not much worry emanating from Charles Lee.
“I would say we’re heading, we’re trending in the right direction,” Lee said. “I think that we are making a ton of great gains, and so I know the results weren’t there. But there’s some moments where I’m watching Tidjane (Salaun) come in the game and impact it in a lot of different ways.
“And I thought Brandon and Kon were better tonight than the game before. We’re never happy with the result, obviously, but I think there’s a ton of positives to take from this. We’ve got to keep moving forward to our road trip coming up.”
Here are some key takeaways from the Hornets’ second straight loss:
Managing Kon Knueppel
Kon Knueppel’s shooting numbers were taking a bit of a dip.
Although the rookie is still draining 48% of his overall shots and already broke the franchise record for most 3-pointers in a season, he’d only made better than 50% of his attempts in a game just twice in his previous seven outings leading into the Hornets’ date with Cleveland.
That changed against the Cavs.
Posting 33 points — 18 coming in the first half — and sinking 7 of 15 3-pointers, he passed Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell (187) for second on the all-time rookie 3-pointers list. Only Sacramento’s Keegan Murray (206) had more.
“It’s cool,” Knueppel said. “It’s really, really cool. Credit to my teammates. And the coaches give me a lot of good opportunities to get good shots. And then just sticking with it, sticking with my mechanics and my confidence in my shot. And it just seems like a lot of them are going in right now.”
Keeping Knueppel as fresh as possible will be key for the Hornets down the stretch. And just how will they go about doing that?
“It’s a holistic approach, really,” Lee said. “He does a great job just with his individual habits. I think our performance staff is really mindful of what they’re doing for him before practices, after practices, before games, after games, off days. And then I’m trying to be mindful of just minutes overall.
“He participated at the All-Star break where all other people were probably having a little bit less of a load. So, we try to be mindful of how we integrated him back for practices. He’s in a great place, though. I know that his habits are at an elite level. They continue to get better, but also he’s such a competitor. He wants to be out there, so I have to manage what I think is going to best help him and put him in the best position to be successful.”
Ryan Kalkbrenner’s development
With Moussa Diabate unavailable for four games due the NBA’s suspension for fighting, it’s providing more of an opportunity for Ryan Kalkbrenner.
Kalkbrenner ceded the starting center role to Diabate while recovering from an elbow injury spanning parts of December and January and that’s also when the Hornets’ game-opening unit began taking off and flourishing.
But minus Diabate, Kalkbrenner is gaining experience and has caught Lee’s eye. He registered eight points and eight rebounds in the first half versus Cleveland and wound up posting his third career double-double — and first since Nov. 4 — with 12 points and a career-best 13 rebounds.
“He’s been great,” Lee said. “Last game, his force, his physicality was felt for longer stretches than we had seen in a while. And when he plays like that, he makes us different, gives us great depth blocking shots at the rim, guarding different people.
“We’ve talked about even trying to switch him at times, too. So, he’s embraced that defensive role and what the impact looks like. Offensively, we’re seeing him also just find more baskets around the hoop, getting us more possessions. And then to see him get on the floor three times for loose balls, the energy and competitiveness from him has been really good.”
Why Grant Williams sat
After starting at power forward in Thursday’s loss, Grant Williams was on the bench in street clothes and powerless to do anything to help stifle the Cavs’ size on the interior.
Williams knocked knees late in the fourth quarter against Houston and immediately grimaced, but didn’t show any effects after posting 20 points and nine rebounds in 29 minutes. The scheduled absence was pre-planned via the Hornets’ performance staff.
“As he’s coming back from his ACL injury,” Lee said, “it was important for us to just be mindful of him on back-to-backs.”
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Roderick Boone
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