The Charlotte Hornets now own the ignominious distinction of being beaten twice by the 5-23 Washington Wizards. It's crazy to think that the Hornets, who held high hopes for taking a step towards significantly improving as they entered the 2024-25 season, are responsible for two of Washington's five wins.
With the loss on Thursday, the team is one step closer to overtaking the Wizards in the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. As a consolation, that also means possibly increasing its odds in the 2025 draft lottery. However, if the Hornets intentionally tank, it might be too insufferable for some players, especially after they had just had a players-only meeting following a loss to the Houston Rockets on Monday.
Evidently, changes must come in Charlotte. One of the low-lying fruits is making some adjustments in the rotation.
Hornets might need a replacement for Josh Green in crunch time
The Hornets' failure versus Washington again went according to script. They trailed by as many as 21 points before rallying for a near-comeback victory, even managing to lead by six with over four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately, several miscues doomed the squad, and Josh Green's mistakes were disappointing, to say the least.
With Charlotte clinging onto a 108-107 lead, Green drew a foul and went to the charity stripe for a pair of free-throw attempts. Hornets fans probably shouldn't have been optimistic that the swingman could expand the margin to three, as he has sunk just 60.0 percent of his free throws this season. Still, hitting just one of his freebies could have increased his team's chances of going home with the victory. Instead, he missed both.
The Wizards and Hornets exchanged shots inside the paint, including an impressive alley-oop connection between LaMelo Ball and Mark Williams with 12.1 seconds left in the contest.
The next possession saw Jordan Poole on an island against Green. Defending the potential game-winner should have been a cinch for the fifth-year pro. After all, he is supposed to be one of Charlotte's best 3-and-D players. As it turned out, Poole put him on skates before nailing a step-back 3-pointer.
Both Brandon Miller's desperation turnaround 3-point attempt and a putback attempt by Ball were off the mark, helping the Wizards hold onto the win.
The Thursday tiff and Charlotte's previous meetings have shown that Charles Lee might need to look for another player to put on the floor alongside Ball, Miller, Miles Bridges, and Mark Williams when the game is on the line.
The thing is, the Hornets might have no other choice because Green is one of their most efficient 3-point shooters and better wing defenders. Maybe the front office can find a solution in free agency or the trade market.