{"id":688561,"date":"2026-03-30T19:35:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T19:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/688561\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T19:35:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T19:35:31","slug":"what-hornets-streak-busting-loss-to-philadelphia-means-in-nba-playoff-chase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/688561\/","title":{"rendered":"What Hornets\u2019 streak-busting loss to Philadelphia means in NBA playoff chase"},"content":{"rendered":"

Don\u2019t think for a second that Charles Lee<\/a> isn\u2019t human.<\/p>\n

The second-year coach of the Charlotte Hornets<\/a> didn\u2019t refrain from telling the truth, opting to instead admit he\u2019s no different than anyone else.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, we all love basketball,\u201d Lee said. \u201cSo we watch a ton of games, and as a staff we\u2019re texting back and forth and as players. We\u2019re scoreboard watching and people are talking about it.<\/p>\n

\"Charlotte<\/p>\n

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball takes a shot as Philadelphia 76ers forward Dominick Barlow defends at the game on Saturday at Spectrum Center. <\/p>\n

(TRACY KIMBALL\/tkimball@charlotteobserver.com)<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we try to focus on what we can control, which is our daily process. The game right in front of us. A little bit of that football mindset in the sense of you just got to go 1-0 that day. That\u2019s all you can worry about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sounds easy enough. In reality, though, it has to be quite a tough proposition considering the Hornets hold the NBA\u2019s longest postseason drought. Which is what makes Saturday night\u2019s 118-114 loss to Philadelphia at Spectrum Center just the latest important result for the Hornets.<\/p>\n

Beating the 76ers would have moved Charlotte (39-35) into a virtual tie for seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings, meaning the Hornets could have climbed to the top of the play-in tournament bracket and eyed moving into the true playoff field if they can catch sixth-place Atlanta.<\/p>\n

Instead, the Hornets dropped into 10th place.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know these last couple games, we\u2019ve got to fight, we\u2019ve got to claw away to improve our odds of making the playoffs,\u201d Coby White said. \u201cIt was [a hurt feeling in the locker room] after the game. We had some good chatter before the coaches came in amongst ourselves about the game, but also how can we not let it bleed into [Sunday].<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can we come back with a refreshed mind [Sunday], ready to compete?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Charlotte<\/p>\n

Charlotte Hornets players react as guard LaMelo Ball is fouled during the first quarter of the game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday at Spectrum Center. <\/p>\n

(TRACY KIMBALL\/tkimball@charlotteobserver.com)<\/p>\n

Here are some key takeaways from the Hornets\u2019 first loss on their seven-game homestand that wraps up Sunday against Boston:<\/p>\n

Fourth-quarter blues<\/p>\n

Unraveling in the final 12 minutes cost the Hornets.<\/p>\n

After posting no fewer than 28 points through the first three quarters, offense betrayed the Hornets in the fourth, when they were outscored 26-17. They failed to make two-point field goals, nailing only 5 of 22 attempts.<\/p>\n

\"Charlotte<\/p>\n

Charlotte Hornets guard Brandon Miller drives past Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George during the game on Saturday at Spectrum Center.<\/p>\n

(TRACY KIMBALL\/tkimball@charlotteobserver.com)<\/p>\n

That includes a 5-for-18 showing beyond the arc.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn that fourth quarter especially, just our defensive focus started to wane a little bit as we were missing shots,\u201d Lee said. \u201cThe guys did a good job the last few games of just not letting that be the case ever. Our shotmaking can\u2019t affect our defense and I thought I did a little bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cToo many guys just driving without that physicality piece. Too many back doors, too many offensive rebounds and clutch moments. Offensively, I thought that our pace started to slow down a little bit. And we were able to really put them in some compromising situations, created a lot of advantages when we played fast and played with great ball movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brandon Miller agreed the Hornets can\u2019t mentally check out when the offense goes cold.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think just having that mindset going into the game of just being at least two ways no matter the outcome,\u201d Miller said. \u201cIf you\u2019re making shots or if you\u2019re not making shots, you\u2019ve still got to have the two-way mindset. So, just continue to have that mindset going into these next games, I think would be good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coby White sparks bench yet again<\/p>\n

Where would the Hornets be without Coby White?<\/p>\n

Since arriving from Chicago in a key trade deadline move by Hornets president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson, the former North Carolina Tar Heel has stabilized the bench and added plenty of basketball IQ.<\/p>\n

White once again led the Hornets\u2019 bench brigade, tossing in 16 points to go with four rebounds and two assists. His play was key in helping the Hornets\u2019 crop of reserves outscore Philadelphia\u2019s non-starters 33-21.<\/p>\n

\"Charlotte<\/p>\n

Charlotte Hornets guard Coby White puts up the shot against Philadelpha 76ers center Joel Embiid on Saturday at Spectrum Center.<\/p>\n

(TRACY KIMBALL\/tkimball@charlotteobserver.com)<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to be aggressive,\u201d White said. \u201cI give credit to the coaching staff, my teammates. When I first got here, I would say I wasn\u2019t being myself. And they continued to push me to be aggressive. The coaches trust me to make the right play in terms of when I\u2019m driving or the right reads when I\u2019m getting downhill.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo for me, (it\u2019s) just continue to be aggressive, continue to be myself and just stay locked in. How can I impact winning and staying locked into the habits that they want me to continue to build for this team?\u2019<\/p>\n

Nick Nurse: Kon Knueppel \u2018a hooper\u2019<\/p>\n

Add another member to the Kon Knueppel fan club.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse gave props to Knueppel, who became the sixth rookie in NBA history to post at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists with five made 3-pointers in Thursday\u2019s win over New York.<\/p>\n

\"Charlotte<\/p>\n

Charlotte Hornets forward Kon Knueppel’s shot is blocked by Philadelphia 76ers Paul George (8) and Kelly Oubre Jr. during Saturday\u2019s game at Spectrum Center. <\/p>\n

(TRACY KIMBALL\/tkimball@charlotteobserver.com)<\/p>\n

Knueppel leads the NBA in 3-pointers at 253 and is the lone player age 22 or younger in league history to make 250 3-pointers in a season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if everybody saw all this coming,\u201d Nurse said, \u201cbut I think there were some absolute high, high, high remarks and super-high grades that people gave him that he was going to be this good. And he\u2019s been tremendous.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe shooting is one thing. There\u2019s scoring, there\u2019s toughness, there\u2019s IQ, there\u2019s team player \u2014 all those, all those things that looks like he\u2019s exhibited. And he\u2019s been absolutely all that and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nurse was among the 76ers\u2019 contingent scouting the Duke product leading into the 2025 NBA Draft. Since Philadelphia had the third overall pick, sitting one spot ahead of the Hornets, the organization did extensive homework on Knueppel. And Nurse was impressed with what Knueppel brings to the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cLots of people really liked him in the draft for sure, and he\u2019s proved those people right and the people that didn\u2019t, he\u2019s proved those people wrong,\u201d Nurse said. \u201cFor me, I just think he was a hooper, man,\u201d Nurse said. \u201cYou just knew he was a competitor, and knew how to play and had lots of pieces to the game as well. He\u2019s again one of those guys that he\u2019ll rebound, he\u2019ll block out, he\u2019ll set screens \u2014 he knows how to play all parts of the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then, of course, he throws on that elite shooting skill \u2026 His elite skill is the shooting, and I think that\u2019s what makes him so good, so valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t think for a second that Charles Lee isn\u2019t human. The second-year coach of the Charlotte Hornets didn\u2019t…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":688562,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[679,676,7,45,970,5087,473,919,963,968,6,11,678],"class_list":["post-688561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba-playoffs","tag-76ers","tag-atlanta","tag-basketball","tag-boston","tag-brandon-miller","tag-charles-lee","tag-charlotte-hornets","tag-chicago","tag-coby-white","tag-kon-knueppel","tag-nba","tag-nba-playoffs","tag-philadelphia"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116319809802073588","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=688561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/688562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=688561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=688561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=688561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}