Hornets Crushed by Celtics in Preseason Opener

The Hornets opened up their five game preseason slate with a 134-93 loss to the Celtics in Boston.

Boston, MA- The Charlotte Hornets tipped off their 2022 preseason schedule in Boston this afternoon by taking on the defending Eastern conference champions, Boston Celtics. Cody Martin was ruled out of today's contest with left knee Tendinopathy and Gordon Hayward banged his left knee in practice this week leading to Steve Clifford and the team doctors sitting him as well. All eyes were on this game, as it was fans first chance to see some notable players playing in their first real NBA game such as Mark Williams and Bryce McGowens. Much attention was also being shown to James Bouknight as he saw his first live game action since his surgery earlier in the year. On the other side of the court, Joe Mazzulla was coaching in his first NBA game for the Boston Celtics allowing him to become the youngest head coach in the league.

Kelly Oubre Jr entered the starting lineup today, surrounded by PJ Washington and Mason Plumlee in the frontcourt and Terry Rozier and LaMelo Ball in the backcourt. Early on in this game, the main thing that jumped off the screen was the Hornets' activity on the defense end of the floor. They were getting their hands in passing lanes, walling up on drives and rotating well. LaMelo Ball flashed a potential off-season development with his mid-range game. That would be huge for Charlotte as it would open up the floor even more for the dangerous shooters surrounding Ball. It will also allow for more space to drive and finish at the rim or get to the free throw line. Ball hasn't attempted very many mid-range jumpers in his first two seasons, but he took two in the early portion of the first quarter.

Jaylen Brown got off to a hot start for the Celtics, blowing past a defender on a swing pass and driving for the dunk. He also connected on a few jumpshots to push his early total to seven. Charlotte got off to a rough start shooting the basketball, but their energy hunting for second chance points was evident. A common off-season talking point was whether or not new head coach Steve Clifford would dial back the up-tempo pace the Hornets have enjoyed since Ball joined the team. The evidence in the first quarter suggested that would not be the case as they were out running early and often off of defensive rebounds. The transition passing looked a bit shaky with Ball missing a kick ahead pass to JT Thor which ultimately led to a Brown dunk on the other end.

The offense looked a bit stagnant towards the end of the opening frame with too much dribbling and standing around outside the arc. The Celtics defense looked in mid-season form already, with the Hornets best offense coming from offensive rebounds. After a tightly played first quarter, the Hornets trailed 29-24 after a late Noah Vonleh three. 

 Jalen McDaniels looked very aggressive offensively early in this game, converting a few shots at the rim and attacking the basket on more than a few occasions. Charlotte remained cold shooing wise to open up the second quarter and that led to a few open looks for the Celtics in transition. Missing shots at the rim was a huge theme of the game thus far as Boston was contesting everything in the paint. The Hornets were doing a great job of getting into the lane, but the defenders' length and activity was clearly bothering them once they got there.

The lead ballooned to 19 at the six minute mark for the Celtics. Boston was absolutely on fire from three in the second quarter going 9/17 as a team. It was a really rough quarter for Charlotte on both ends as they were outscored by 17. The early defensive activity seemed to fall off throughout the half as the team was probably getting frustrated with their offensive struggles. They found themselves giving up too many transition looks as they attempted and missed so many shots in the paint. Charlotte was behind 66-46 at the half. The Hornets had just five assists and two three-pointers in the first half compared to 20 assists and 14 threes for Boston.

The game seemed to slow down a bit early in the third as there weren't many transition opportunities on either side. A few dead ball turnovers for each team certainly contributed to that. LaMelo's shooting struggles continued into this half as he sat at 2/15 from the field early in the quarter including five misses from three. Nick Richards replaced Plumlee in the opening lineup to start the third quarter and he remained active on the offensive glass, cleaning up a few Ball misses in the paint.

A few defensive lapses from Charlotte increased the lead to 27 for the Celtics at about the midway point of the third frame. LaMelo connected on two straight triples to cut into the lead a bit and alleviate some of his struggles. He also had a really nice floater in the lane off of a tough screen by Richards. Continuing to prove he can take and make that shot will be crucial for Charlotte's offense this season. Meanwhile, Boston remained other-worldly hot from three as they continued to knock down shots.

Mark Williams saw his first action of his NBA career late in the third. Dennis Smith Jr also checked into the game at the same time and contributed a nice pull-up shot from the elbow area. A Celtics run to close out the quarter stretched the lead to 30 heading into the fourth.

Dennis Smith Jr opened up the final quarter with some impressive offense, but their defense really struggled. Williams was caught out of position on defense a few times leading to lobs over his head for Boston dunks. Kai Jones had consecutive highlight finishes by collecting loose balls as his energy stood out in the fourth quarter. The hot shooting continued for the Celtics as they finished with 22 threes on 47% shooting compared to just five on 15% shooting for the Hornets. The Hornets did a pretty good job of taking care of the basketball, finishing with 13 turnovers which ended up being almost less than half of what Boston had.

The Celtics ended up winning the game by a final score of 134-93. Jaylen Brown was the best player on the floor tonight, leading the way with 24 points. Oubre poured in a team high 17 points for Charlotte. Cold shooting and the Celtics' length really plagued the Hornets this afternoon. They were getting into the lane pretty easily but were very inefficient when they got there. There were some open shooters on the perimeter on most of these drives, but they were not given many opportunities on kick out passes. There should be a lot for Clifford and the rest of the coaching staff to point out on film for the next few days and work on correcting moving forward. They will be back in action on Wednesday at home against the Indiana Pacers.

Team Stats by Quarter

1Q:

CHA: 8/29 FG | 2/13 3FG | 13 REB | 3 AST | 2 TOs

BOS: 9/18 FG | 5/12 3FG | 16 REB | 8 AST | 8 TOs

2Q:

CHA: 7/21 FG | 0/6 3FG | 9 REB | 2 AST | 6 TOs

BOS: 13/23 FG | 9/17 3FG | 14 REB | 12 AST | 9 TOs

3Q:

CHA: 13/25 FG | 3/9 3FG | 5 REB | 7 AST | 3 TOs

BOS: 14/20 FG | 6/11 3FG | 11 REB | 11 AST | 5 TOs

4Q:

CHA: 7/26 FG | 0/5 3FG | 16 REB | 1 AST | 2 TOs

BOS: 12/23 FG | 2/7 3FG | 15 REB | 10 AST | 1 TOs

Total:

CHA: 35/101 FG | 5/33 3FG | 43 REB | 13 AST | 13 TOs

BOS: 48/84 FG | 22/47 3FG | 56 REB | 41 AST | 23 TOs

Box Score

CHA: 24-22-31-16-93

BOS: 29-39-39-27-134

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