From LaMelo Ball’s viral car accident yesterday and Moussa Diabate’s fight against Jalen Duren of the Pistons just 10 days ago, to a stretch of winning 10 of their last 11 games (including a nine-game win streak), the last few weeks for the Hornets have been like a roller coaster, both on and off the court.
Charles Lee, the Hornets’ head coach, spoke to the media tonight before the Hornets played the Rockets at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center. He addressed his first reaction to the car accident and explained how the team has been coping with distractions over the past two weeks.
“The first thing when you hear about any type of accident is you hope all parties involved are okay, they’re healthy and safe. He was able to come in today, feeling good, ready to go, and he’ll be ready to play tonight,” said Lee.
The 24-year-old guard reportedly swerved into an oncoming car while attempting to take a left at an intersection in downtown Charlotte. The guard was seen exiting the car, seeming unscathed, entering a Lamborghini, and leaving the scene after the incident.
“Our staff, our players, we try to get ahead of things as much as possible. Even in the offseason, we talked a ton about embracing adversity and focusing on the things we can control. There will always be distractions in life and in basketball. Things just come up,” Lee further added on how the team had dealt with the distractions over the last two weeks.
“A big part of who we want to be and want to grow into are people who respond in an appropriate way when you are faced with adversity and distractions, and how you can block out some of the noise and focus on your main goal.”
“Our guys have taken everything in stride, they’ve learned from some of these events on how to respond when we have to come out and play a tough game, and focus on getting better every day and supporting one another,” concluded Lee.
The Hornets have surprised the rest of the league and gone from a 16-28 start to the season, where they looked like a future lottery team in the NBA, to now being 26-29 in the regular season and competing for a playoff spot (ninth in the East).
If they beat the Rockets tonight, they will improve to 27-29, one game closer to the Heat (29-27), who are eighth in the East. Meanwhile, the Hornets will host the Cavaliers tomorrow night, on the second night of a back-to-back set of games for the team.
The upsurging Hornets could seriously sting some of the play-in-contending teams if they continue the form they have been in. But clearly, such distractions could become a hurdle for the team in achieving that objective.
