'If we are going to take the next step, then it's all on me'
After Hornets lose for the sixth time in seven games, Malik Monk vows to help pull Charlotte out of its funk in its search for consistency
They are in a serious funk and spiraling in the wrong direction. The offense keeps sputtering at the most inopportune time. Teams are beginning to guard their best player differently, making it even more difficult to completely pull themselves out of the quagmire they are immersed in.
So what can be done about it? Malik Monk believes he has a good idea.
“I think it’s a big part for me to help this team, and if we are going to take the next step I think it's all on me,” Monk said after the Hornets’ 116-110 loss to Indiana at Spectrum Center on Wednesday night. “So I’ll take the pressure. I’ll take it.”
Monk’s insertion back into the main nine-man rotation was one of two lineup changes coach James Borrego utilized in an attempt to shake things up. And it turned out to be one of the select bright spots in yet another frustrating defeat for Charlotte. Given the Hornets’ offensive problems save for leading scorer Gordon Hayward, status quo wasn’t going to cut it, not with them losing five of their previous six heading into a span of 12 of 14 games at home.
Borrego also slid Cody Zeller back at starting center, putting him there after bringing him off the bench in his initial three games upon his return from a broken finger. Zeller responded with a double-double, posting 10 points and 14 rebounds to go with four assists.
But the most intriguing alteration involved Monk, with the fourth-year guard essentially taking the minutes doled out lately to Caleb Martin. Monk injected the Hornets with some energy, sparking them in a fashion that didn’t necessarily completely show up in his stat line of seven points, two assists rebounds and one rebound in the 13:47 he logged.
On a team that likes to toss out undersized lineups frequently and boasts a small starting backcourt, Monk’s ability to penetrate into the lane and get to the basket adds a dimension that just hasn’t always been there through the season’s initial five weeks. Half of his six shot attempts came inside the paint and he made a pair of them right at the bucket, including one where he absorbed the contact and still got the ball to fall despite a no-call.
“Malik’s one of those guys that’s rare for us that can create at the rim and finish at the rim,” Borrego said. “We’ll continue to look at that. I need to continue to challenge him defensively like all our guys. But we need to find some rhythm at the rim, guys that can make plays there. Malik is one of those guys. He was elite there last year and for us to make up some ground at the rim and at the paint, Malik is one of those guys.
“Maybe there’s some more minutes there, I’ll take a look at it. But he played well.”
Monk had appeared in just four games prior to Borrego summoning him off the bench against the Pacers and didn’t hear his name called in the previous two games. Borrego was going with Martin because he thought it was providing them with a better two-way option. However, the offense is sputtering badly and that’s where Monk comes into the picture.
He sees himself as multi-faceted catalyst.
“Spreading the floor a little bit more for LaMelo (Ball),” Monk said, “getting in the lane a little bit to open up the floor for Devonte’ (Graham), Terry (Rozier) and Gordon a little bit, too. I can also make plays for all those guys, too. I think spreading the floor will be a big piece with that so we can get a lot of drives, too. Once we drive, kick, swing (then) now it’s hard to beat us and hard to stop us when we’re all locked in to doing that.”
Whether Monk gets an extended crack at remaining in the rotation remains to be seen and the amount of time he’s on the floor in the Hornets’ back-to-back games against Indiana and Milwaukee beginning on Friday will be a good indicator. If he does elbow his way in, it would represent another tweak to the player combinations Borrego and his staff are trotting out on the floor. They’ve sifted through more than a few so far.
While incorporating Ball and Hayward into the scheme and deciphering the player combinations that are best and most effective, it’s undoubtedly taking them longer to find consistent cohesion than they probably anticipated it would factoring in the abnormal circumstances.
“This is unique, the situation,” Borrego said. “A couple of factors are not having a Summer League and not having a preseason to figure out LaMelo. Not really having a training camp and being together like we are accustomed to. We were thrust right into the heart of the season quickly and we are learning on the fly.
“There’s not going to be a set rotation. I keep saying that and if you guys are looking for one, I’m not going to give you one. This is just going to happen over the course of the season. The bigs, it’s a challenge for me trying to figure out who to play but that’s my job — to figure it out. We’re just going to continue to look at different lineups and see what fits together. I look to stay as consistent as possible and I’ve tried to stay consistent with that starting lineup.”
Until going back to the season-opening one in their matchup with the Pacers, swapping Bismack Biyombo for Zeller with hopes of plugging some of the issues that were popping up on the interior.
“Now you bring Cody back into the mix and it does complicate it,” Borrego said. “But that’s OK. That’s our job. We’re going to figure it out. It’s just going to take some time and I’ll adjust accordingly.”
In essence, the Hornets are far, far from a finished product.
“That’s exactly it,” Zeller said. “We talked a lot about it last year, but it’s tough to play well consistently in this league. And especially for young guys. There’s just so many games. And so I think you’ve seen kind of that. Different guys play well one night, not-so-well the next night. So that’s a portion of it too, still kind of being a younger team. So yeah we are still trying to figure it out. Obviously, I’ve been out, I’ve been injured. So I’m kind of just getting back into things. So hopefully (it helps) our coaches figure out kind of the right combinations out there.”
This stretch has been frustrating but they're still (shockingly) only one game out of a playoff spot and haven't played terribly even when losing. Only a few teams are really playing well. I get the feeling this is going to be a really weird season with a lot of swings and Charlotte is going to be swingier than most.