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To say the Charlotte Hornets have been on a roller-coaster ride of late would be an understatement.
The Hornets enter Tuesday’s home game against the Brooklyn Nets on a seven-game skid. The last time they won, ironically, was against the Nets on Jan. 21.
That win was their third straight and that streak was coming on the heels of a five-game skid. The constant in the losing streaks has been the Hornets’ inability to close out games in the fourth quarter and play lock-down defense.
And that was the same refrain Saturday when the Hornets fell apart in the fourth quarter in a loss to Utah. The Jazz made 10 of 18 shots from the field in the fourth quarter to erase a double-digit deficit and beat the Hornets.
There was no doubt what coach Steve Clifford had his troops focus on in practice Monday.
“Anybody want to guess?” he asked facetiously. “We worked on our fourth-quarter defense … basic fundamentals. They worked hard and did a good job.”
Their poor fourth-quarter play has been the key throughout the losing stretch, echoed All-Star guard Kemba Walker.
“We have to be better and play with a sense of urgency,” he said Monday after practice.
Some help might have arrived via Milwaukee.
Newly acquired Miles Plumlee, who made his Hornets debut on Saturday, could provide immediate help. He finished with four points in 18 minutes. Plumlee and his high basketball IQ were traded from the Bucks to the Hornets on Thursday for Roy Hibbert and Spencer Hawes.
“It’s definitely been a whirlwind,” he said. “This is a fresh start and I’m grateful. It’s no secret I wasn’t playing much with Milwaukee … I’m excited to be here.”
Stamina and conditioning are definitely an issue for the 6-foot-11 center, who was averaging only 2.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game for the Bucks.
“We can only play him a few minutes at a time,” Clifford said, adding, “we will keep throwing him out there in short spells.”
Not much has gone right for Brooklyn this year, which comes to Charlotte with the league’s worst record (9-42) and spiraling further on a nine-game losing streak thanks to Toronto’s Kyle Lowry. The Raptors’ All-Star guard had a triple-double on Sunday as Toronto made just enough plays down the stretch to beat Brooklyn 103-95.
Unlike Charlotte, which has not defended well during its losing streak, the Nets have taken to heart what coach Kenny Atkinson has been preaching. Since giving up 129 points to Minnesota on Jan. 28, Brooklyn has buckled down on defense and is holding opponents in the past three games to 41.6 percent from the field.
Yet the results have been the same, with Atkinson lamenting poor offense and too many turnovers. In a loss on Friday, they committed 19 turnovers. On Sunday, that number jumped to 22.
“We’re going to keep hammering executing better on the offensive end, making better decisions, taking better shots,” Atkinson said. “The shot selection was particularly disappointing. I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that all year, taking the right type of shots and today, again we got caught in some bad situations, some bad decisions.”
As has been the case for most of the season, Brook Lopez led the Nets with 20 points. With the trade deadline approaching quickly, rumors that the Nets are shopping Lopez and his 20.3 points per game are picking up steam.
Forward Quincy Acy, who was signed a multiyear deal just last week, left Sunday’s game after spraining an ankle in the second quarter. He landed the contract based on improved defense. His status for Tuesday’s game is uncertain.
This will be the final time the teams meet this season. The Hornets, behind Walker’s 30 points, beat the Nets 99-95 on Nov. 4 at the Barclays Center. Randy Foye made a 3-pointer at the buzzer in the Nets’ 120-118 win in Brooklyn on Dec. 26. And last time they met was the last time the Hornets won (112-105) on Jan. 21.
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