Key takeaways from the Charlotte Hornets loss vs Raptors

The Charlotte Hornets were just overall a better basketball team

So obviously this fact is true as there wasn’t a 20+ point lead at any point or loss there but the entire roster from top to bottom performed all but textbook basketball with efficiency on both sides of the court.

This could have been due to the massive amount of energy brought to the team due to LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges and Terry Rozier. Ball came into the game and from his first minute energized the offense and with another couple of slick passes, the fans were sure to have their eyes glued to the screen. That same amount of energy was replicated by the defensive energy that Miles Bridges brought to the court. Bridges was all over the court hustling from end to end just to put his hand in the opponent’s face. To see a fun player like Bridges speed down the court and that hustle can cascade down the roster. Rozier brought so much energy from behind the arch, where he hit back to back to back three’s to get the roster up on their feet.

Secondly, the overall improvements by LaMelo Ball was a huge positive for the roster. After a scoreless game against the Raptors days ago, fans were skeptical and that took away from the contributions he actually made that night. Regardless of how you felt about LaMelo Sunday morning, as of today, the youngest Ball brother looks good offensively. Ball recorded 12 points, three rebounds and two assists with charisma oozing from his pores. As Ball showed improvements in his game, the team got into an exciting style of play.

A huge positive for the Hornets was the number of drawn fouls. Cody Zeller had himself quite a night and that was due to his efficiency from the charity stripe. Zeller up until halftime hadn’t scored a single point from the field and was a perfect six-for-six going into the second half. The Hornets were fouled so much that they actually shot double the amount of free throws than the Raptors.

The Hornets played so and their facilitating was a huge factor in their offensive improvements. The Hornets tallied eight more assists than Tampa Bay and the entire game it was pass after pass. The highlight pass of tonight was surely LaMelo Ball’s no-look alley-oop but ultimately the team all together passed more accurately.

https://twitter.com/hornets/status/1338646989106524168

Even though Gordon Hayward looked really solid in his minutes the biggest positive was the production from the roleplayers. Bismack Biyombo looked really good on the pick-and-rolls and looked athletic in the game. Along with Biyombo, Jalen McDaniels carved himself a definite spot in the rotation for the rest of the preseason with 15 points while shooting 71 percent from the floor. Obviously, as of right now LaMelo Ball is coming off the bench and was efficient in his minutes.

Now let’s check out the flip side of the Hornets play.