Hornets recognize gap to Celtics after back-to-back losses

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Charlotte Hornets guard Brandon Miller looks to pass while Boston's Jaylen Brown defend during an NBA game Nov. 2 at Spectrum Center. The Celtics swept back-to-back games against the Hornets, who dropped to 2-4.

The Hornets can hang with the NBA’s top team.

They just couldn’t beat them.

There are no moral victories, but Charlotte managed to creep to within striking distance in back-to-back games against the Boston Celtics, despite not having forward Brandon Miller in the first and center Nick Richards in the second. Boston won 113-103 Saturday and 124-109 Friday.

“Our spirits are still extremely high,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said after the second game. “I think that we draw a lot from the positives and learn from some of the growth opportunities that we had during the games. I think that we faced a team that is very veteran and very physical. They have played together and have a little bit more cohesion and we were throwing out different lineups here and there. It's just a different group going up against a battle-tested team, so for me, I leave very encouraged from what I saw.”

LaMelo Ball, who fouled out of both games, found ways to contribute, mostly by scoring, but distributing as well. Ball scored 31 points in the first game and 36 in the second but continues to struggle on the defensive end.

“It’s probably a little bit of different terminology and different techniques that we're trying to work on,” Lee said. “I do think that just trying to continue to challenge him, and we have to learn about can you guard one on one, or do we need to send a double team every time, or are you going to foul? I think that’s something as a staff, we got to figure out what we're going to become comfortable living with. But also, through conversations with him, can he just sit down and guard his yard and commit to just showing his hands and defending without fouling?”

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum scored 32 points in the first game and 29 in the second. The Hornets tried to throw multiple defenders at him when Tatum would catch the ball in the post or even at the top of the key. He was able to pass out of double-teams and find open teammates for open shots.

“[With Tatum] that's why he's such a dangerous player,” Lee said, “because he now has the ability to play isolation basketball. He is also trusting his teammates more and more in every situation. So now he's like a willing passer. I think he's always been capable, and now he's just even more willing to pass, and then he's got great players around him to also just be able to make plays.”

Tatum wasn’t pleased with his performance in the second game, largely because of his 1-9 shooting performance from three-point range. But he knows that every game isn’t going to be the same and sometimes your shot just isn’t going to fall.

“You guys watch enough basketball, and we play enough basketball,” Tatum said. “Every game is not the same; there’s 82 of them. You’re not always going to shoot exactly how you want, but the objective of the game is to find a way to win. Finding ways to win when the shot isn’t falling for all of us means we have to get stops.”

Miller, who returned after missing the previous four, poured in 16 points and six assists. It took him a while to find his footing, but once he did, helped the Hornets trim the Celtics lead to single digits. The high pick and roll game with Miller and Ball created open shots for either player.

“[We’ve] got two dynamic scorers that I think are just going to create some indecision for a defense,” Lee said. “Are we switching? Are we hedging? Are we in center field, or whatever it may be? Brandon gives you also the threat of being able to roll. I think that adds another layer to his ability to either pop, roll, punish you in the mid-range, punish you at the rim, or punish you with threes. We have two great playmakers and scorers involved in action. That is a pretty successful thing for us.”

The Celtics have been the standard for not only the Eastern Conference but the NBA as a whole in recent seasons, which should prove to be a learning tool for the Hornets.

“I definitely think that it's a great test,” Lee said. “And for our team, I think every game is a great test right now, because we're still learning each other. We’re learning how to play defensively, we’re learning how to build winning habits, how to compete for 48 minutes, or however long the game requires us to. So, I think every game is big for us to figure out how do we establish sustained success.”

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