There are 16 games remaining in the regular season and it doesn’t appear the New Orleans Hornets are any closer to solving their glaring defensive problems than they were two months ago.
It hasn’t mattered how long Hornets Coach Monty Williams puts his team through video sessions to go over mistakes or have walk-through practices or shootarounds to emphasize specific defensive assignments, it’s still not carrying over into games. The Hornets continue to struggle with their defensive rotations that causes them to give up too many open shots on the perimeter and drives into the lane that leads to layups or dunks.
“We’ve had a number of breakdowns and that falls square on my shoulders,’’ Williams said. “I have to get guys in the game who want to compete for 48 minutes. There is no margin for error with this team, especially when you have lost guys like Jason Smith (injured) and you don’t have experience.’’
— Reported by John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune
