The return of LaMelo Ball came as an early Christmas gift for the Charlotte Hornets. Fans were likely excited to see the team field its starting lineup for the first time this season.
Monday saw the Hornets face off against the Philadelphia 76ers to see how well they can fare against Eastern Conference competition with a roster at near-full strength.
Perhaps the Sixers being without superstar Joel Embiid and Rookie of the Year frontrunner Jared McCain had some among the Hornets faithful thinking that Charlotte could go home with a win in the books. Unfortunately, it lost 121-108. Aside from the team's porous defense, Ball's shot went missing, and the star couldn't deliver his usual heroics in the fourth quarter.
Hornets' loss to the Sixers shouldn't cause panic
The loss, though, shouldn't cause folks to overreact. Yes, the script remained the same, with the Hornets bleeding points in the third quarter and then making a run late in the contest before sputtering again.
Still, there are plenty of positive takeaways from the Monday match.
First of all, we have to commend coach Charles Lee for being creative with his rotation, as three of his starters had to play with minute restrictions. Another starter, Brandon Miller, exited the game in the fourth with a sprained ankle.
Interestingly, a lineup of Isaiah Wong, Miller, Josh Green, Miles Bridges, and Moussa Diabate managed to get Charlotte back in the game. The quintet helped cut the margin to four midway into the final stanza before the Sixers pulled away again.
The Hornets did well in some unexpected areas of their offense. They finished the contest shooting 50.6 percent from the field and dishing out 30 assists. Both were much better than their season averages. However, converting just 31.6 percent of their 3-pointers and facing a significant disparity in the free-throws department (12-21 compared to the Sixers' 23-30) had Charlotte at a disadvantage all evening long.
Tyrese Maxey and Paul George also just proved too tough to stop, with the duo combining for 74 points and accounting for 44 of Philadelphia's 54 points in the first half. Maxey went to the line 13 times, making 10 of his tries, while George registered a 13-20 shooting clip. Sometimes, you just have to accept that opponents can get unbelievably hot from the field.
The Sixers have also had the Hornets' number the entire season. Three of their eight wins so far have come against Charlotte, which could prove advantageous for the Hive in the quest to get higher odds of winning the 2025 draft lottery.
It's understandable for Hornets fans to be upset on Monday, though. Seeing their team lose to another cellar-dweller can indeed be frustrating. However, the squad has yet to find its bearing after dealing with health issues for months.
The real test will come on Thursday when Charlotte goes up against the league-worst Washington Wizards. If it can't put up much more of a fight anew, perhaps we can start slowly reaching toward the panic button.