There is nothing joyous about backing into the NBA play-in tournament.
Devonte Graham left no doubt of that after the Charlotte Hornets lost their second straight at home, this time falling to the Denver Nuggets 117-112.
Graham was asked if there would be room for celebration if the Chicago Bulls lost (they did to the Brooklyn Nets), assuring the Hornets would advance to at least one play-in game next week.
“Not at all,” Graham said after scoring a season-high 31 points. “We’ve got to figure out a way to close games ... Just play better overall.”
The Hornets are stumbling to their first postseason appearance since the spring of 2016. Tuesday, they had a terrible start, trailing by as many as 21 points in the first quarter. They got a boost from the play of Graham, who’d missed the last four games with a sore right knee, and center Cody Zeller (15 points and 10 rebounds), who hasn’t started in a while.
It’s no news the Hornets are shorthanded. They’re still missing Miles Bridges, Gordon Hayward and Cody Martin. But this late-season swoon isn’t exclusively about who is available. The Hornets committed 17 turnovers Tuesday, after looking dysfunctional offensively in the fourth quarter Sunday of a brutal loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Tuesday, they played most of the second half without coach James Borrego, who got the first ejection of his NBA career. Lead official James Williams assessed Borrego two technical fouls about three minutes into the third quarter. Borrego was arguing after rookie LaMelo Ball was called for an out-of-bounds turnover on the far baseline.
At least, I assume that’s what set off Borrego; he declined to talk post-game about the specifics of his ejection.
Like Graham, Borrego wasn’t buying that a Bulls loss was cause for to celebrate.
“No room for celebration,” Borrego said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
