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Hornets fall to the Wizards in disappointing return to Spectrum Center

Washington once again pulverizes Charlotte's defense and sweeps the season series

Albert Bottcher

Scott Kinser-Imagn Images
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After a three-week-long road trip that spanned nine games and saw the Charlotte Hornets finish with an 1-8 record, the purple and teal jerseys finally took the Spectrum Center court again. They did so in poor fashion, losing to the Washington Wizards by 100-113. Washington was without two of their best players, Jordan Poole and Malcolm Brogdon.

It wasn't the prettiest of games to begin with, as can be expected when the two worst records in the NBA meet. There were plenty of sloppy passes, hasty shot attempts, and bad misses throughout the first quarter alone, as both sides put on performances emblematic of their respective seasons.

An early positive standout was the play of Josh Green. He was assertive on the offensive end, scoring eight points, and making a bunch of big hustle plays defensively. In general the Hornets showed some effort on defense, forcing nine turnovers on their way to a narrow 25-24 lead.

Any defensive intensity went out of the window as soon as the second quarter began. LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, and Mark Williams did most of the heavy lifting scoring-wise, and their output was much needed because the Wizards were starting to put more and more points on the board as well. Despite a 59-54 lead at the half, the Hornets had some issues to address heading into quarter number three.

Things didn't change coming out of halftime, and the inevitable happened. The offense dried up as soon as Ball, Bridges, and Williams struggled, and nobody else stepped up to stop the drought. It took almost eleven minutes until a fourth player scored for Charlotte in the third quarter, when Damion Baugh sunk a three-pointer.

The Wizards on the other hand had no problems getting good shots for anybody on their roster, no matter if it was a number of open looks at the rim for Richaun Holmes or a couple of good catch-and-shoot opportunities for Corey Kispert. They finished the third quarter on a 15-5 run and with a 84-75 lead.

It was more of the same in the final few minutes. The Hornets' offensive production did ramp up a bit, but to no avail, as Washington continued to feast on the hosts' helpless defense. Eight Wizards ended up scoring double-digit points.

Best of the Night: The Hornets win LaMelo's minutes

It's not easy to take anything positive out of tonight's game apart from the fact that it's over and can't get much worse, but here's something: LaMelo Ball didn't have a very efficient game, sinking only 7 of his 19 field goal attempts. But he still managed to make a positive impact. In the 32 minutes the 23-year-old played, Charlotte outscored Washington by six points.

Worst of the Night: The defense, as a whole

One of the main selling points of Charles Lee and the new front office has been that they value effort and tenacity on the defensive end. Those values have already come through plenty of times this season, despite the ongoing injury problems. The Hornets managed to stay in many games they had no business being close in because they defended well.

But in the last few days, the opposite has been the case. Granted, the group of players currently available to Charles Lee doesn't provide much defense or depth. But to give up 113 points to a Wizards team that averages 108, is without two of their main ball handlers, and only shoots 34% from downtown (17/50) is inexplicable. Even more so, coming off the back of such a disastrous road trip.

Stat of the Night: Wizards sweep the series for first time since 2012

With tonight's loss oficially in the books, the Hornets have now lost the season series against the Washington Wizards at 0-4, providing them almost half of their total 11 wins on the season. That sounds bad, and it is. But it could be even worse.

The last time the Hornets/Bobcats were swept by Washington was during the infamous 2011-12 season, which Charlotte finished with a 7-59 record. That year's sweep included much worse losses than this year's. For example, a 73-101 defeat in of the final games of the season, where a Gerald Henderson Jr. led Bobcats team shot only 34% from the field.

Highlight of the night: Miles Bridges' first left-handed dunk of the season

Next up:

The Hornets welcome the Golden State Warriors to Spectrum Center on monday at 7pm EST.

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Albert Bottcher
ALBERT BOTTCHER

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