Charlotte Hornets is on her way north of the border on Friday and visits Toronto Raptors in the middle of a distance that has seen Hornets lose five of the last six matches.
It includes three disappointing losses in a row. Since March 21, Charlotte (18-54) has been hit by a 35-point loss to Oklahoma City Thunder, a 17-point loss for the struggling Miami warmth and a seven-point loss to Orlando Magic in a game that was tied after three blocks. Hornets is guaranteed to end with fewer than 30 wins for the third season in a row and currently has the league’s third worst record.
Although it has not been seasonal coach Charles Lee and Hornets hoped for, Lee is still stuck in his belief that Charlotte is building a winning organization.
“The goal for us was to create a standard for competitiveness,” Lee said. “Create an environment with just work and obsession with daily improvements, training days, weight room sessions, our diets, game days, everything. I just love the whole trip. The third part was like building an environment of affiliation and a culture of belonging because we go through this trip together. I think that all these goals are still in motion and I am happy as hell.”
While Lamelo Ball is the team’s season -long point leader of 25.2 points per match, Miles Bridges has transported Charlotte’s crime most in recent months. Bridges has led Hornets in points 18 times in its last 30 matches returning to January 27, including a career pile of 46 points against Cleveland Cavaliers on March 7 and a game-winning 3-point against San Antonio Spurs on February 7. Brandon Miller was an average of 21 points per match before he went down in the season in January with a Wrist injury.
Raptors (26-47) entered this week on a ski and maintained his fourth straight loss in a 123-89 route by San Antonio Spurs on Sunday. Toronto responded on Monday and beat Washington Wizards 112-104 on the second part of a back-to-back. That momentum was introduced on Wednesday evening in Brooklyn. Raptors presented one of his best efforts during the season and beat Nets 116-86 in a convincing wire-to-thread effort.
RJ Barrett leads Toronto in points at 21.3 points per match. Scottie Barnes is the team’s engine at both ends of the floor, an average of 19.5 points, 7.8 returns and 5.9 assists per match. Barnes is also on average a combined 2.5 steal and block per match, which leads the team.
“Everything that Scottie does is very important to us and we as a team,” said Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic. “We go as far as Scottie goes. I encourage him, he is our leader. He sets the tone on the defensive end. He sets the tone with how he plays, with ball movement, with force. He is constantly improving in all aspects of his game.”
Immanuel Quickley also contributes 17.4 points per match in his 29 performances so far this season, while Jakob Poeltl is on average 14.4 points and a team high 9.6 returns per match for Toronto.
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