First-year Charlotte Hornets coach Charles Lee has shown the willingness to alter player combinations late in games, even if it might cause a bit of a stir.
That happened earlier this week when guard LaMelo Ball was off the court late in a game.
“I think every night it can be somebody different,” Lee said. “They all have to accept the fact that if another guy has it going, we probably have to ride that hand.”
The Hornets will be back in action Thursday night against the visiting Detroit Pistons. This will be a rematch of Charlotte’s one-point victory earlier this month.
The Hornets have lost four of their last five games, including Tuesday night’s 116-115 setback at Brooklyn. Ball didn’t play down the stretch, finishing with season lows in points (12) and minutes (24).
Charlotte has won its last three home games, including two outcomes by one point. The first game in that home streak was a 108-107 victory against Detroit on Nov. 6, when Miles Bridges was Charlotte’s top scorer with 27 points. Until Tuesday, that was the only time a player other than Ball led the Hornets in scoring during a nine-game stretch.
Lost amid the hubbub regarding Tuesday’s fourth quarter was the fact that Charlotte scored a season-high point total in the first quarter in holding a 37-23 lead. The Hornets made 13 of 19 shots from the field during that 12-minute span.
Since losing at Charlotte, the Pistons have compiled a 4-3 record. They played Monday night, falling 122-112 at home to the Chicago Bulls.
“There were things that we could have done better,” Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Give them credit. They made shots. They made contested shots.”
Bickerstaff mostly gave the Bulls credit for connecting on 23 shots from 3-point range, but certainly that will be something the Pistons address from a defensive standpoint. Chicago made 50 percent of its treys.
Cade Cunningham has led Detroit in scoring in five of the last seven games, pumping in 26 points against the Bulls. Cunningham averages a team-high 23.2 points per game.
The Pistons had Tim Hardaway Jr. back for Monday’s game after he sat out three games with a head injury. Malik Beasley had good production in Hardaway’s absence, but Beasley went back to a bench role.
“If you’re injured and you are a starter, you come back and you’ll be a starter,” Bickerstaff said.
Hardaway went 1-for-10 from the field, missing all eight 3-point attempts, in 30 minutes of playing time. Beasley came off the bench to play 30 minutes, providing 21 points.
Detroit’s Jalen Duren pulled in 22 rebounds Monday. His 12 offensive rebounds were the most for a Piston at that end of the court since March 2015.
The status of Charlotte reserve guard Tre Mann, who averages 14.8 points per game, still warrants monitoring because of his sore back. He has been out of action in a couple of recent games.
“Everybody on our team has been so critical as we’ve been kind of short-handed,” Lee said. “Having Tre back I think gives us another ball handler.”
