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The Charlotte Hornets’ postseason hopes ended in a 121-90 loss to the Orlando Magic in the NBA play-in tournament at the Kia Center in Orlando on Friday night. After the game, head coach Charles Lee addressed the performance with a series of direct assessments.
“Not our best effort,” Charles Lee said. “But I do like the fact that we continue to battle and grind throughout the game.”
Lee acknowledged the magnitude of the moment while keeping focus on growth from the season. “I also hope that this fuels us this off season. Because we did a ton of really good things and gave ourselves an opportunity. You’re one step away from being in the playoffs.”
The Hornets coach emphasized the importance of reflection during the offseason rather than immediate disappointment. “This has gotta hurt a little bit and you got to think about this offseason. When you’re in the weight room, when you’re on the court, what am I going to do to go that extra mile to get even better?”
Despite the elimination, Lee pointed to internal progress. “We had a ton of growth this year. I don’t want those guys to lose sight of the positives that they did do. I think that the resilience of the team, the competitiveness, the togetherness continued to grow.”
He added that the loss should serve as a long-term motivator. “We earned an opportunity to be right there. So ton of good. But that was not our best effort tonight. Credit Orlando. They played well.”
Lee also addressed the physical nature of the game and early foul trouble on screening actions. “We actually hung in there with the physicality,” he said. “I thought there was a ton of physicality and then all of a sudden we tried to set a screen to get a teammate open and then got called for one.”
He continued, “I almost think it softened up our guys a little bit to figure out how do I actually get open if we’re not allowed to screen for one another. So we got to be better though about trying to get a couple more stops.”
On the officiating sequence involving early offensive fouls, Lee was careful in his response. “I don’t want to get into it because I don’t want to get fined at all, but I’ve not seen that very often. We have to be better.”
Addressing individual performance, Lee also commented on a shooting night from Kon Knueppel. “I think he had a hell of a season. He did a great job in a lot of different factors.”
The Hornets finish the season just outside the playoff field after falling short in the play-in round, while Orlando advances as the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed.
