If I tried as hard to write this recap as the Hornets did in that game, I’d stop right about-
Let’s keep this simple. From my game on post, I had three keys to the game:
- Run the offense
The Hornets managed 15 assists, and only 8 came in the first 36 minutes. They had 32 points in the paint, but again, only 18 came in the first 36 minutes. Time and again, the Wolves would switch on the Hornets, and rather than continuing to run the play, Vasquez would wave everyone off and try to take an opposing forward off the dribble. That worked out about as well as the final score indicates. Oh, and Austin Rivers was awful until garbage time.
Even something as simple as running fast breaks kept falling apart for the Hornets. They had three fast breaks in the first quarter, a 4-1 and two 3-2 breaks. They got zero points. In fact, on 18 Timberwolves turnovers, the Hornets managed to score 7 points. That is desperately bad.
- Guard the Ball
The Hornets had 19 turnovers halfway through the third quarter. 19! They finished with 23.
- Limit offensive rebounds
15 offensive rebounds on 32 missed shots. The Wolves had only 4 fewer offensive rebounds than the Hornets did defensive rebounds.
The Hornets don’t play again until Wednesday. I wouldn’t want to be in one of Monty’s practices over the next three days, that’s for sure.
4 responses to “Hornets crushed in Minnesota”
This game hurt….instead of ranting, I’ll just blame it on the uniforms. Whenever I watch a gme in those unis they lose. And plus I lose on 2k13 whenever I pick those unis. That’s all I’m gonna say….damn unis
It’s either the uniforms, or the fact we had Baron Davis on the banner. Stupid Baron Davis.
I think Vasquez is worn out from playing so many minutes. He is jogging back on every missed shot or stupid turnover, allowing many guys to get behind him for easy fast breaks. He seems to be watching the action instead of doing his job.
The observation about lack of offensive execution is spot-on, and has been developing over this losing streak. Every guard on our roster is playing head-down basketball. Our offensive sets are not very effective in creating open looks, so maybe the guards aren’t bothering to look for open men anymore….
Our conversion rate on layups and fast breaks must be near the bottom of both the NBA and the D-league. Even AD missed a 2-footer last night. Even if you are losing, watching a slam at the end of a break can be entertaining. Out team is denying us even that pleasure.
I kept watching as Lopez and Smith left Pekovich to “help” on somebody else, resulting in a huge wide-open guy 3 feet from the goal. Obviously stupid.
Why can’t a Hornet barrel into their defender and get a shot up to the rim for free throws? Instead we turn it over or get blocked.
I just hope that one year soon we will play our healthy guys and really TRY TO WIN some basketball games. All this plotting for future success is getting old.
U-G-L-Y.
I agree that the team looks fatigued. Hopefully a few days rest will help out.