Charlotte Hornets: A Bad First Quarter Leads to Second Straight Loss

The Charlotte Hornets started their game against the Philadelphia 76ers slow, being outscored by 15 points in the opening period.

The Charlotte Hornets started their game against the Philadelphia 76ers the same way they ended the game against the Memphis Grizzlies – sluggish and sloppy. The 76ers outscored the Hornets in the first quarter by a margin of 15 points, scoring 39 points compared to the Hornets’ 24. Just to put that into perspective, that put the 76ers on pace to score 156 points by the end of regulation.

The Sixers did an excellent job confusing the Hornets in the first quarter. Their ball movement was precise and proved to be the Achilles heel for the Hornets, especially in the first quarter. By having such good ball movement, the 76ers were able to find too many open looks and easy shots.

More from Swarm and Sting

• Hornets: Where does Brandon Miller’s ceiling rank among other rookies?
• Charlotte Hornets grade out mostly average in position-by-position ranking
• Hornets News: P.J. Washington makes bold statement on Brandon Miller
• Grade the mock trade: Hornets snag Tyler Herro, flip Gordon Hayward
• Will the Charlotte Hornets be in the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery?

The Sixers had good discipline, hardly ever leaving their assignments on the defensive side of the ball. This was what made it hard for the Hornets to get back in the game because while the Hornets began to ratchet things up on the defensive side, they were never able to get the big run they needed on the offensive side.

The most disappointing part of this game was that the Charlotte Hornets played three great quarters of winning basketball. Other than the opening quarter, the Hornets played a competitive and aggressive game.

In the second quarter they tied the Sixers with 34 points apiece, in the third, the Hornets outscored the Sixers 32 to 31, and in the fourth, the 76ers outscored the Hornets 23 to 22. This has been the biggest struggle for the Hornets this year, not playing an entire 48 minutes of winning basketball.

The second most disappointing part of the game was how poorly Devonte’ Graham performed for the second straight game. He hit one three-pointer and went 2 for 2 on his free-throws. There has been a lid on the bucket for Graham over the past couple of games and has grown noticeably frustrated. Do you want to feel encouraged about Graham? Look at him directly after the game, all by himself and shooting to get better. You love to see it! This man’s about to go off!

On a brighter note, Terry Rozier went off! He led the team in points, scoring 35 points in 34 minutes of play. He hit 66.7% (12/18) from the field and 63.6% (7/11) from the three-point line. He also went 4 for 4 from the free-throw line.

Gordon Hayward came in second in scoring, getting 20 points in 38 minutes of play. He 46.7% (7/15) from the field, 50% (2/4) from three, and 4 out of 4 from the free-throw line. He also had 6 assists and an impressive 4 steals.

LaMelo Ball came in at third in points, scoring 13 in 30 minutes of play. He hit 4 of 12 from the field, including 1 of 4 from three-point range. He also went 4 for 6 from the charity stripe. On another note about LaMelo, his passing is still unbelievable. Check out this highlight reel pass.

https://twitter.com/hornets/status/1345536698277638150

Bismack Biyombo, PJ Washington, and Caleb Martin all scored 9 points. Biyombo was close to earning himself a second straight double-double game, grabbing 9 boards. Miles Bridges scored 8 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, and had 2 blocks.

Unlike in the game against the Grizzlies, the Charlotte Hornets played well for the majority of the game. They played good team basketball, and they spread the ball around pretty well. I was more impressed with this game than I was with the game against the Grizzlies because they actually showed fight. They put the first quarter behind them and they started playing winning basketball again.

Also, LaMelo Ball is good and through the first 6 games, it doesn’t look like the lights of the Queen City are too bright for him. This should please the Hornets’ front office.

The Charlotte Hornets will look to bounce back in their second game of a back-to-back against the 76ers, on Monday night. Let’s see if they can get themselves motivated to play an entire basketball game.