The Morning After: Warriors 98, Hornets 83

If you were hoping for a better all-around performance from the Hornets after Monday's outing, well, you'll have to wait until they get another run at the Spurs on Friday.

The Hornets only trailed the Golden State Warriors by eight at the midway point but a 15-point third quarter put them in a major hole - one that they were unable to recover from.

It may have been too little, too late but they did post their best scoring quarter of Summer League with 28 in the fourth. Maybe the pressure was gone or they just finally figured some things out. Either way, it's something the Hornets can hang their hat on heading into the rematch with San Antonio.

Here are my takeaways in today's edition of The Morning After.

Be selfish

Brandon Miller was drafted second overall for a reason. They trust in his offensive game, particularly his shooting ability. He finished last night's game with just four shot attempts and six points.

In a setting like this, Miller needs to take control of the offense and not be afraid to do so. Four shots isn't going to do it. He needs 10+ in every one of these games or the Hornets don't stand a chance. They don't have a true point guard on the Summer League roster, but he can facilitate it pretty damn good for a 6'9" guy. That was one of the bright spots from his performance as he ended the game with seven assists.

Hi, Kai!

Kai Jones was essentially non-existent in the first game against San Antonio and it sparked concern all over social media as to whether or not he'll ever develop into a contributing factor in Charlotte.

Now, he didn't play perfect by any means as he still looked lost at times defensively and missed some rebounding opportunities but he was certainly more active in this one.

He collected twelve points, but I could care less about the scoring. The Hornets need Jones to excel in other areas of the game and he did that by recording four steals and two blocks. Plus, there were a few other plays that he impacted that won't show up on the stat sheet.

Crushed inside...again

The 41-32 rebounding advantage for Golden State doesn't tell the full story...the Hornets were outworked on the glass again, particularly on the defensive end where they allowed 13 offensive boards, leading to 23 2nd chance points.

I understand the Hornets are fairly undersized in Summer League but it's never a good sign when James Bouknight is your leading rebounder (6).

Nick Smith Jr. flying under the radar

In the midst of all the shortcomings offensively, the Hornets' other first round pick, Nick Smith Jr., has shown some promise.

Through two games he has totaled 26 points on 11/27 FG (41%) to go along with seven assists, five rebounds, and a block. I'm sure the Hornets would like to see him be a little more selective on his shots behind the arc, though. He's 2/9 to this point and a few of those were forced.

The Hornets will now head to Las Vegas to officially begin play in the NBA2K24 Summer League. They'll have a chance at revenge against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday with a tip-off time of 9 p.m. EST. The game can be seen on ESPN.

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