It continues to be striking what Charlotte Hornets point guard Devonte Graham is doing in his second NBA season.
Graham hit four 3s in the Hornets' 101-91 loss the Brooklyn Nets. That brought him to 50 3s made and 100 assists in Graham's first 15 games this season. Only three other NBA players _ Baron Davis, Stephen Curry and James Harden _ have done that. He is fifth in the NBA in average 3s made at 3.5.
Ten thoughts on the Hornets' loss, which drops them to 6-9 and 1-2 on this four-game road trip ending with Friday against the Washington Wizards.
_ The Nets had 13 offensive rebounds, leading to 19 second-chance points. That puts so much pressure on the Hornets offensively just to keep pace, much less take leads on the road.
_ Brooklyn center Jarrett Allen finished with 22 points and 17 rebounds. It seems like every shot he took was a dunk. That is different only by degree as far as the Hornets' struggles this season defending the post.
_ Hornets center Cody Zeller played just 15 minutes due to constant foul trouble (he finished with four fouls). Bismack Biyombo has played solidly this season, but there is still a big gap between Biyombo and Zeller.
_ Turnovers like the one with 3 { minutes left _ when Terry Rozier lost the ball on a bad pass that led to a Taurean Prince layup _ are such a costly flaw. That Nets basket seemed to end the Hornets' chances.
_ The Hornets posted up rookie forward P.J. Washington on their first possession Wednesday. Washington is the most natural post scorer in the rotation and this team's offense leans heavily toward 3s and straight-line drives. It's important to use Washington's strength and skill in the post to balance the floor.
_ Malik Monk's first quarter was a good illustration of his effort to be more efficient offensively: Seven points off four shots: Two baskets at the rim (both on Nic Batum feeds) and a 3-pointer.
_ The Hornets allow the tenth-most second-chance points in the NBA this season. The preseason was all about improving defensively, but not much will change until that does.
_ Zeller made his 11th 3-pointer this season in the first half. He made 10 3s total in his prior six NBA seasons. With Zeller asked to do some play-making in the high post this season, being somewhat a 3-point threat makes the opposing center vacate the lane to guard him. That's of real benefit to the guards driving.
_ Batum has totaled nine shots this season and they've all been 3s. It's good if he's creating spacing, but he got to the rim a lot early in his Hornets career. Seems like the Hornets should run more two-man game for Batum and Zeller.
_ The Hornets have now had double-digit deficits in all 15 of their games. Wednesday, the Nets took a 10-point lead with 6 minutes left in the first half.
