Hornets Recap: Swarm Dismantled By 76ers In Philly

In a game that meant quite a bit to the Eastern Conference playoff positioning, the Charlotte Hornets forgot to arrive this afternoon. Getting blasted by the 76ers in Philadelphia, the Swarm apparently hit snooze one too many times on their alarms this morning.

With such an early tip-off, it is always hard to predict if teams are going to come out cooking or if teams are going to come out flat-footed. Weirdly, the 76ers came out cooking with gas, and the Hornets were sleepwalking on the court.

Despite the modest halftime deficit of 58-53, the final score ended up much more one-sided. Scoring 86 points in the second half alone, Philly ran away with this one in the end, 144-114. While the over certainly hit, this is not the way the Swarm wanted it to hit.

As a team, the 76ers shot 60.9% from the field, connected on 21 triples, and attempted 21 free throws. That level of defensive ineptitude is not going to cut it for the Hornets in the playoffs.

For the Swarm, any time you can shoot 48.3% from the field and dish 34 assists, you should remain competitive in most games. That was simply not the case in this one. In fact, the only Hornets player that finished with a positive plus-minus score was Jalen McDaniels, who only played six minutes.

Overall, it was just a good old-fashioned beatdown. LaMelo Ball struggled with his shot (5-12 FG) and committed six turnovers. Miles Bridges had an efficient (6-12 FG) 20 points but ended with a -25 plus-minus rating. Terry Rozier could not buy a bucket (2-9 FG) and finished with 10 points.

Thankfully, there is one positive to come out of this game. Gordon Hayward made his long-awaited return to the hardwood. He only played 16 minutes, but having a veteran starting-caliber player return at this point in the season has to lift morale in the locker room heading into the postseason.

The Hornets get right back at it on Monday, April 5. Heading down the east coast to Miami, the Swarm will look to bounce back and remain in the hunt for the eighth seed.