Charlotte Hornets: Reacting To An Embarrassing Game 1 Loss

The Charlotte Hornets couldn’t have gotten off to a worst start in their playoff series against the Miami Heat. Was it just a fluke or is it a sign of things to come?

Whether it’s a positive result or a heartbreaking loss, reacting to a team’s performance in only one game can be rash and impulsive.

However, the Charlotte Hornets‘ performance Sunday afternoon in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Miami Heat warrants all the concern and criticism the team is getting or will be getting over the next 48 hours.

In their wire-to-wire 123-91 Game 1 loss, the Hornets looked overmatched against a veteran-laden Heat team and it showed in many ways, especially defensively.

The Hornets’ stout defense, the ninth-best defense in the regular season in terms of defensive rating (per NBA.com/stats), was nonexistent shortly after the opening tip.

While the Hornets were the third-best team in the NBA this year in limiting their opponent’s points in the paint, they gave up 56 points in the paint to the Heat.

The Heat capitalized on extending offensive possessions all throughout the game, despite the Hornets being the best defensive rebounding team throughout the year and that resulted in 19 second chance points of of the Heat’s 14 offensive rebounds.

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Individually, the Hornets had no answers from the performances of Luol Deng (31 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the field) and Hassan Whiteside (21 points, along with 11 rebounds and three blocks).

In spite of their lackluster defensive performance, the Hornets did manage to show some positive signs on the other end of the floor.

Although his playing status was somewhat in doubt leading up to the game, Nicolas Batum did his best job to carry the team offensively as he went on to have 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting in 40 minutes.

Collectively, the team shot a modest 43 percent from the field and 35 percent from deep, but the Hornets made their hay at the free-throw line as they went 29-of-37 from the charity stripe.

Yet that just isn’t enough to smooth over what was an incredibly disappointing performance from the Hornets.

The team’s trademarks that carried them all throughout the season failed them in the opening game of the series and the team’s performance will raise questions regarding the team’s mentality and preparation heading into the postseason.