The Charlotte Hornets saw their two-game winning streak snapped Wednesday, suffering an eight-point defeat to the Detroit Pistons
. For the third consecutive game, Hornets forward Brandon Miller scored 30 or more, finishing the night with 31 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Dennis Schroder also reached double-figures, scoring 14 points to go along with four rebounds and five assists.For Detroit, two-time All-Star Cade Cunningham finished with 30 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals. Paul Reed filled in well for the injured Jalen Duren, posting 16 points on an efficient 5-for-7 from the field. He also racked up four rebounds, three steals and one block. Prior to Charlotte's rematch of the Washington Wizards Friday,
here are three takeaways from the loss.
3. Naz Reid's benching
After a possession near the end of the second quarter, Naz Reid was pulled by head coach Charles Lee and did not play at all in the second half. While Lee must have certainly had his reasons, benching an eight-year veteran, the former Sixth Man of the Year Award winner was missed on both ends of the floor. Following the game, Lee indicated that Reid would return to the rotation as normal for Charlotte's next contest.
2. Secondary scoring
Without Reid in the second half, Charlotte didn't have many other options to turn to besides Brandon Miller. Grayson Allen, one of the league's better sixth men, struggled, scoring nine points on 2-for-8 shooting. While Dennis Schroder did score 14 points on 60% shooting from the field, his efforts weren't enough to take the pressure off of Miller. While this is a problem that will be fixed upon the return of Kon Knueppel and Coby White, the Hornets could use another shot creator off the bench.
1. Limiting turnovers
A common theme in the Hornets' losses this season has been turnovers. After a turnover plagued preseason, Charlotte gave up the ball 27 times to the Atlanta Hawks in their first loss of the year and committed 25 turnovers in Wednesday's defeat. To achieve their goals of becoming a playoff team, the Hornets must do everything in their power to reduce giveaways. Charlotte currently ranks 29th in the NBA in turnovers per game (20.2), ahead of only the Los Angeles Clippers.
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This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: 3 things from Charlotte's 97-89 defeat to Detroit
