The Charlotte Hornets have been on a downward spiral the past few games. With a lost to the Toronto Raptors on Monday night, they have now lost five straight games.
Before the losing streak, the Hornets were in the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference. Now, they are sitting at the ninth spot and can't seem to buy a basket from outside. They have had a bad stretch of shooting nights, and against the Raptors, they shot 23 percent from 3-point range. For a team that relies heavily on that outside shot, that isn't going to cut it for a win against a good Toronto team.
Charlotte as a whole has struggled to cash in on easy wide-open shots. No one that played a substantial amount of minutes shot the ball from deep over 40 percent. Kelly Oubre Jr. went 0-of-8 from there and he usually stretches the floor for the Hornets. Miles Bridges had 25 points, but shot 2-of-7 from deep. Bridges has been in a shooting slump, but that's not exactly what he would call it.
“I never feel like I'm in a shooting slump,” Bridges said. “It's just about confidence. I'm not gonna hesitate on shots. I put too much work in for that. If I have an open three, I know coach wants me to take it.”
He is right. A few missed shots shouldn't shake anyone's confidence, especially if you have the green light from the coaching staff. Bridges has taken a huge leap to become the potent offensive threat he is today. Plus, when you're one of the team's leading scorers, you kind of have to shoot your team out of the gutter. His team has needed his contributions in this losing streak.
Bridges highlighted staying positive as a way to get over the skid. “Everybody else is being negative around us. I know everyone that's supporting us is upset, but we got to find our way.”
PJ Washington also chimed in and spoke on the losing streak.
“I just don't think shots have been falling. It's part of the game. Some games they go in, others they don't. Unfortunately, they haven't been going in as of late. We just gotta stick with it. They're gonna fall eventually,” the Hornets big man added.
Things haven't been great for Charlotte and it actually gets worse. Gordon Hayward only played six minutes in this game, as he exited with a left ankle sprain. He just can't seem to catch a break after missing a significant amount of time due to injuries and COVID-19 this season. Hopefully, Hayward won't miss too much with this new issue. The Hornets are already down several players and need to figure out a new game plan for Chicago on Wednesday.
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