Hornets struggle from deep in preseason loss to Heat
If there was one area that the Charlotte Hornets need to improve this season, it is their shooting from three-point range. It appears the Hornets still have some work to do based on their performance in Tuesday’s 113-109 loss to the Heat in Miami.
Charlotte converted just 10 times on 38 attempts on the night, hardly an acceptable rate for a team looking to improve upon last year’s disappointing campaign. The only players who made more than one three-point attempt while converting on the majority of their attempts were Terry Rozier and J.T. Thor. Rozier made two of his four shots from deep, while Thor was 3-5. Gordon Hayward would also make his lone attempt from beyond the three-point line.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, LaMelo Ball converted on two of his seven attempts, and P.J. Washington was 1-6. R.J. Hunter would make one of his four three-point attempts in seven minutes of game action.
There was a handful of players who would fail to make any of their shots from deep. Brandon Miller, Edmond Sumner, Frank Ntilikina, and Nick Smith Jr. would combine to go 0-11. It would have been encouraging to see Charlotte’s rookies make at least one three, but Miller failed to make any of his four attempts, and Smith Jr. missed both of his attempts. When it comes to Sumner and Ntilikina, these are two players, if they make the roster, who will not be primary sources of offense when they are on the floor. Their scoring contributions would be considered a bonus. However, it would have been nice to see one of their five attempts go in.
While the Hornets struggled to convert enough from deep, there is one positive takeaway. All five of Charlotte’s starters ended up on the positive side of the plus/minus metric. Granted it was a preseason game against a Jimmy Butler-less Heat squad, but it is still worth mentioning.
The Hornets will travel to Washington to take on the Wizards for their second preseason contest. Hopefully, their fortunes from behind the three-point line change for the better as they continue their preparations for the regular season. It has only been one preseason game, but seeing improvement in an area that the team notably struggled in last year would at least provide some hope that things will be better in Charlotte this season.
