The Hornets dropped their fifth straight game, a 126-123 overtime loss at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers in the Staples Center, on Monday night. LaMelo Ball had a huge night in the loss, recording a triple-double with 25 points, 11 assists and 15 rebounds, and Terry Rozier played his best game of the season, dropping 29 points on 11-22 shooting. That wasn’t enough, however, to overcome the star-ladened Lakers, who were led by Anthony Davis’ 32 points and Carmelo Anthony’s 29 points of the bench.
One of the biggest issues that the Hornets have had on this road trip has been the lack of bench scoring and that surfaced once again in Monday night’s loss. The team got just 16 points from the bench players in a combined 67 minutes and they finished the game with a combined plus/minus of -63. Sam Farber, the radio voice of the Hornets here on WFNZ, joined the Mac Attack earlier this morning and says that P.J. Washington’s absence is a big reason for the bench’s struggles. “The lack of P.J Washington certainly has an impact. It really changes a lot of things that you want to do out there. I think Nick Richards has played really well at times, but you can’t make up for the experience that P.J. has.”
Even with the issues that the Hornets have had on this road trip so far, though, Farber told the Mac Attack that it’s not time for the Hornets to panic just yet. “I still feel good about the way Charlotte is playing overall,” he said. “The schedule has not been kind; the Hornets at this point in the season have played more games and more road games than any other team in the NBA, so this has not been an easy stretch. They are going to even out in the end, the schedule will become more favorable on the back end and if the Hornets can weather this storm and continue to play in this manner, I feel good about where Charlotte sits.”
The Hornets will return to action on Wednesday night looking to break the losing streak in the final game of their road trip as they face the Memphis Grizzlies in the FedEx Forum. Tip-off will be at 8:00 with Sam on the call and Kyle Bailey and Travis “T-Bone’ Hancock will have the pregame show one hour prior all on WFNZ.
Sam Farber: It’s Not Time For the Hornets to Panic Yet was originally published on wfnz.com
