The Charlotte Hornets’ preseason wrapped up with the same kind of mess that’s followed them for stretches all month: too many turnovers, not enough clean possessions, and a few encouraging individual performances buried inside a 116-98 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night at FedExForum.
Charlotte did build an 11-point lead at one point, but Memphis steadily took control and eventually pushed the margin to 29. The Hornets finished their four-game exhibition slate at 1-3, while the Grizzlies closed at 3-1.
The biggest issue was hard to miss. Charlotte coughed it up 24 times, and Memphis turned those mistakes into 23 points.
Naz Reid was charged with five of those turnovers in 24 minutes, Christian Anderson Jr. had four, and Ryan Kalkbrenner added three in less than 16 minutes. It came on the heels of another ugly night two days earlier in Boston, where the Hornets had 30 turnovers in a 114-93 loss and gave up 27 points off them.
Their lone preseason win, a 105-90 home victory over Milwaukee on Oct. 11, came with just 14 turnovers.
Memphis was loose with the ball too, committing 20 turnovers, but Charlotte only got 21 points out of them. Ty Jerome had five of those giveaways for the Grizzlies, though he also picked off three steals.
After the game, coach Charles Lee pointed to pace as another area that needs work. Memphis beat Charlotte 21-13 in fast-break points, and Lee said the Grizzlies did a good job disrupting the Hornets’ outlets.
"Number one, would love to see us be able to just play a little bit faster," Lee said. "I think that, give Memphis a little bit of credit, they try to jam our outlets at times, but I do think that we can do a better job of getting up the court, sharing the ball, taking care of the ball."
"But I also don't want that our offensive struggles take away from our competitive spirit, especially on the defensive end," Lee continued. "So we got some things to clean up, but I think there was also some really good moments throughout that game."
Lee has said Charlotte’s pace runs through Brandon Miller, and Miller got 25 minutes Friday. He finished with 15 points on 4-of-12 shooting, including 2-of-7 from 3-point range.
For all the rough edges, the rookies kept forcing their way into the conversation. Hannes Steinbach and Christian Anderson Jr. were the only Hornets to finish with a positive plus-minus, and both came off the bench.
Steinbach put together a strong night with 19 points and 10 rebounds in 27:34, the most minutes on the team, while shooting 7-of-9 from the field and 5-of-5 at the line. He also grabbed five offensive rebounds and added three steals.
Anderson was just as noticeable in his own way. He posted 15 points, two rebounds and a team-high six assists in 21:33, went 8-of-9 at the line, and finished plus-7.
Charlotte drafted Steinbach 14th overall out of Washington on June 23 and selected Anderson four picks later out of Texas Tech.
The starting lineup still looks unsettled, too. Lee opened with Dennis Schröder, Miller, Sion James, Reid and Kalkbrenner, a different group from the one he used in Boston, where Royce O’Neale and Moussa Diabaté had started alongside Schröder, Miller and Reid.
Schröder had 6 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, but he also finished minus-24 in 21:30. James didn’t score and went 0-of-5 from the field, including 0-of-3 from deep, though he still contributed 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in 22:44. Reid scored 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting, while Kalkbrenner replaced Diabaté in the starting five and finished with 2 points, 3 rebounds and 3 blocks.
O’Neale came off the bench and made both of his 3-pointers for 6 points in 18 minutes. Tidjane Salaün added 9 points on 4-of-6 shooting, with three of his four rebounds coming on the offensive glass.
Charlotte shot 41.3% from the field and 10-of-33 from 3-point range. Memphis was better at 46.2% overall and knocked down 14 of 34 from beyond the arc, with Cam Spencer going 3-of-3 from deep off the bench. The Hornets were 26-of-30 at the line, while the Grizzlies went 28-of-30.
Memphis also owned the glass, outrebounding Charlotte 42-35. Both teams scored 17 second-chance points, and the Grizzlies held a narrow 42-40 edge in the paint.
Cameron Boozer led Memphis with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, hitting 9-of-10 free throws. Jerome added 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting and finished plus-26.
Lee said the bigger picture is still about growth.
"Biggest thing for this group, I think, is just to continue to have sustained competitive togetherness," Lee explained. "I think that we've done it throughout preseason in doses. I just want to see more sustained efforts, and I think that that's part of having a new group come together, having new guys trying to figure out new positions and stuff, so it's part of the growing process."
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