Miles Bridges scored 28 points but the Charlotte Hornets offense was otherwise a disaster as they lost to the Chicago Bulls, 104-91.

Summary

It was a slow start to the game–neither team scored for almost a minute and a half. The teams traded buckets in an even but uneventful first quarter that ended with the Bulls up 23-22.

The Hornets started the second quarter strong. Cody Martin hit a corner three, then Nick Smith Jr. hit a three, and then he stole a wayward pass and kinda dunked it for a quick 7-0 run. The game fell into a lull after that due to some sloppy basketball and a lot of whistles. The game went over three minutes without a field goal, and the Hornets went over five minutes between that last Smith basket and their next points–back to back Miles Bridges 3-pointers. That helped the Hornets stick around, and they went into the half trailing by six.

Terry Rozier finally got his first points of the game with a pair of free throws early in the game. It wasn’t enough to jumpstart the Hornets clunky offense. They quickly dug themselves into a double digit hole as the Bulls started to find a groove on their own offensive end. Bridges again helped spur a mini run to pull the Hornets closer. A couple of mid range jumpers by Jevon Carter pushed the lead back up to nine, but a definitely not lucky 4-point play by Rozier pulled the Hornets back within five going into the fourth quarter.

The Bulls scored eight straight points to start the fourth quarter to set themselves up with a comfortable lead. Back to back turnovers from Terry Rozier led to layups and further added to the damage. The Hornets never threatened much after that, and the Bulls cruised to an easy 13 point win.

The Good

Miles Bridges was the only reliable offensive threat the Hornets had on the offensive end of the floor. He’s been much more aggressive attacking the basket since he apologized for his poor play after the Suns game, and his production has been better for it. It’s seemed to help him into a rhythm too, as he’s shooting a much better percentage on his 3-pointers on slightly lower volume as well.

Cody Martin had a pretty good game. He scored 13 points, made three 3-pointers, and contributed his usual hustle plays.

Nathan Mensah had some more good defensive minutes. He continues to draw charges with the best of them and did a good job of boxing out on the defensive glass. He’s maybe better than I gave him credit for when the Hornets signed him.

The Bad

The Hornets offense is a trainwreck. There is no direction or fluidity to any of it. It’s a lot of aimless dribbling and players taking turns trying to make something out of nothing. The off ball movement is almost nonexistent and nothing about the offensive system seems designed to generate even a chance of easy offense. It leads to a lot of isolation basketball and tough shots.

The biggest culprit of the tough shot taking was Terry Rozier, who did not have himself a good ballgame. It seemed like almost all of his 17 shot attempts were tough shots off the dribble. He didn’t do a good job moving the ball. While he’s the starting point guard, he needs to do a better job of initiating the offense without needing to pound the ball for several seconds at the start.

Brandon Miller only played 23 minutes and was largely invisible in those minutes. He scored just nine points on 3-of-13 shooting. There will be better days ahead.

PJ Washington left the game in the first half after turning his ankle. Add him to the long list of Hornets injuries. It remains to be seen how much time he’ll miss.

What’s Next

The Hornets get the whole weekend off in Charlotte before they take on these very same Bulls in the Spectrum Center on Monday.