Bad Losses Could Be the Difference of Whether or Not the Hornets Make the Playoffs
The bad losses are starting to pile up for the Charlotte Hornets and when you're in the midst of a playoff push, losing games that are considered "gimmes" just simply can't happen.
Sunday night, the Hornets fell in overtime 127-126 to the 12-win Detroit Pistons. The Hornets had plenty of opportunities to win the game, even in regulation. Cade Cunningham missed 1/2 free throws with nine seconds to go keeping it a two-point game. P.J. Washington cleaned up a miss from Miles Bridges to tie the game up with just four seconds left. LaMelo Ball stole in the inbound pass and threw up a clean look, but it clanked off the rim, sending the game to overtime.
After leading most of the overtime period, the door was left wide open for Detroit to steal the game after Washington missed a point blank shot at the rim that would have forced the Pistons to shoot a three to tie it. Instead, the miss allowed the Pistons to create a look from two and Kelly Olynyk knocked down the game-winner at the buzzer.
Not only is this considered a bad loss, but the loss now makes the Hornets 0-7 in overtime for the 2021-22 season.
"We've just got to make a shot, make a play down the stretch," head coach James Borrego stated in regards to the overtime struggles this season. "We've had free throws in all of them. We've had layups in all of them. We've had shots in all of them. We've had opportunities to rebound the ball in all of them. We've just got to close out and make one of those plays. It's not anything tricky here. One rebound, one stop, one free throw, one shot...we continue to put ourselves in position to win games, we've just got to close it out and make one more play."
With just 20 games left on the schedule, the Hornets sit in 9th place in the Eastern Conference standings with a 30-32 record. Although they do have 11 of those games at home, they must take care of business when other games like this pop up again. For example, the Hornets still have to make a trip to Oklahoma City, host the Magic one more time, and have two more meetings with the Knicks. These are must-win games. For whatever reason, this team has been susceptible to playing down to the level of competition and they're fully aware of it.
"If we came out like we played Toronto we'd probably win every game. Unfortunately, it just doesn't happen like that," Terry Rozier said. "They hurt. I ain't going to lie, they hurt. That's just a part of this league. We play a lot of games and we play another one tomorrow and move on. This one hurt. Not just because of their record or because they're Detroit but every game matters for us."
When opportunities are running out, every game does matter, regardless of opponent. However, losing to the likes of Orlando, Houston, and now, Detroit could be the difference in this team making the playoffs or sitting at home and watching from the comfort of their own home.
"We learned this against the Magic, Rockets, and now this one, so we've just got to fix it," said Miles Bridges. "We can't play down to our competition. It definitely hurts. We needed this game. This is just one we gave away. We've got a tough Milwaukee team tomorrow, so we'll try to get that one and move on."
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