HOUSTON _ A long-limbed wing scorer and a rim-protecting big man.
That is the Charlotte Hornets' shopping list. It doesn't matter which one is acquired first. It isn't necessary that either is found before Thursday's NBA trade deadline.
Whether by trade, draft or free agency, Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak must address these areas of need. Tuesday's 125-110 road loss to the Houston Rockets illustrated as much. This was one of their better games this season. The young guys are playing abundant minutes and improving as a result.
But there is seldom enough collectively to get it done. They are now 2-20 this season against teams currently with winning records. They can build a lead _ they were up 15 on the Rockets _ but they are stretched to the limit against any opponent to hold on for 48 minutes.
Tuesday, Miles Bridges (20 points and a career-high 15 rebounds) and Terry Rozier (20 points off 12 shots from the field) were good; probably close to as efficiently as either one can play. I don't know whether either of them is good enough to be the best player on a team that would win a playoff round.
Contrast that to the Rockets' James Harden; he's obviously one of the NBA's top players, scoring 40 points Tuesday and adding 12 assists and nine rebounds. It's unrealistic to think the Hornets will fall into a Harden. But most teams' best player is a lot closer to that standard than any player currently on Charlotte's roster.
