During this stretch run, school is constantly in session for the Charlotte Hornets.
As a collective unit, the Hornets are in new territory as they march toward the NBA’s play-in tournament while each outing has a distinctive teaching tool of its own.
“One of the things we learned is playing really good teams,” coach Charles Lee said, “especially at this point in the year — meaningful games — there’s carryover whether you win or whether you lose, you have to move on quickly. Because the opponent is going to be a high-evel team and you can’t dwell on what happened the night before win or lose.
“You have to learn a lesson and move on quickly.”
That’s precisely what the Hornets did in Brooklyn on Tuesday night, pummeling the Nets 117-86 at Barclays Center to halt a two-game losing streak at the hands of Philadelphia and Boston over the weekend.
Handling business against Brooklyn (before returning to Charlotte for a two-game home stand against Phoenix and Indiana) was key, and the Hornets (40-36) moved back into a virtual tie with Miami (40-36) in the Eastern Conference. They sit a half-game behind eighth-place Orlando (40-35). However, the Heat holds the tiebreaker, so the Hornets are in 10th place in the conference with six games left.
Miles Bridges of the Charlotte Hornets dunks the ball against Nic Claxton of the Brooklyn Nets. Ishika Samant Getty Images
Still, the Hornets did what was required in Brooklyn.
“Just their ability to respond to a loss, to a win,” Lee said. “Just their ability to come together in these moments. This was a very mature victory by the group, High-character victory.”
Here’s what else the Hornets had to say of note in Brooklyn:
On the offense
“We have a lot of guys that can put the ball in the basket and we play an unselfish brand of basketball, so that helps a lot,” the Hornets’ Coby White said. “When you’ve got guys that make shots and you move the ball, it’s easy to have multiple guys in double figures. That’s kind of what we look for when we play — is play together, move the ball and let the guys make plays.”
On LaMelo Ball being more vocal
“Melo has definitely grown in his vocal leadership this year,” Lee said. “I think a ton of it comes from, No. 1, he is giving it on both ends of the floor. And by giving the competitive spirit, the effort that you need defensively and offensively, I think him feeling that engagement on both ends also makes him more comfortable now in speaking out and holding guys accountable to those standards.
“That’s the standards that he sets, and he wants to make sure we are all living by and choosing to just compete at that level. So I’m really proud of the progress he’s made with his vocal leadership, because it’s huge for us. When one of your best players is your hardest, most engaged players, it starts to become contagious throughout.”
LaMelo Ball of the Charlotte Hornets shoots the ball against the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Ishika Samant Getty Images On Kon Knueppel’s case for Rookie of the Year
“He’s just found a way to impact winning in so many different ways,” Lee said of Knueppel. “He’s elevated our standards just like some of our veteran players that have been here for a while. But to have a guy come in as young as he is and have an impact at this level consistently every night is really impressive. We’re feeling it defensively, we’re seeing it offensively where he doesn’t have a crazy high usage. He still has other guys out there to play off and play with.
“But he’s able to be consistent, and that is the part that I think is really impressive, is just his willingness to do whatever is needed to impact winning and then also the consistency behind it. It’s just a testament to how he approaches every day.”
Kon Knueppel (right) of the Charlotte Hornets shoots the ball against Noah Clowney of the Brooklyn Nets. Ishika Samant Getty Images Pat Connaughton is a finalist for Twyman-Stokes teammate of year
“I’m proud of Pat being a finalist in that category,” Lee said. “As much as we’ve talked with our team about the competitiveness, we are also huge on togetherness. And to have a guy like him who understands what the competition looks like on the floor, but is still here to kind of enhance the environment, help celebrate his teammates, give his teammates wisdom.
“I think he models a lot of the behavior we want from all our players, what it looks like in terms of the professionalism necessary. The engagement level he has at all times — practice, individual workouts, games. … He’s been a huge boost for us.”
The Charlotte Observer
Roderick Boone joined the Observer in September 2021 to cover the Charlotte Hornets and NBA. In his more than two decades of writing about the world of sports, he’s chronicled everything from high school rodeo to a major league baseball no-hitter to the Super Bowl to the Finals. The Long Island native has deep North Carolina roots and enjoys watching “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” endlessly.
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