BORREGO ISN’T PLAYING FAVORITES
Charlotte coach says he wants to see improvement
The Albuquerque native and Charlotte Hornets coach says none of his players have a “God-given right” to playing time.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If the players in the Charlotte Hornets rotation don’t change soon, their minutes will.
Coach James Borrego has lost patience with his team’s lax defense. The Albuquerque native said repeatedly following practice Tuesday that if he doesn’t see marked improvement, he’s going to shake up his lineup.
“You have to value your time on the floor. This isn’t a God-given right to step on the floor and just go through the motions,” Borrego said in response to his lineup.
The 6-12 Hornets have lost five in a row heading into Wednesday’s home game against the Detroit Pistons. The primary flaw has been defense. Borrego didn’t specify which players might lose or gain minutes, or if he’d implement changes Wednesday. But he couldn’t have been more direct — consequences are coming.
“If you’re not doing your job, if you don’t have great effort, if you’re not engaged from Minute 1, then I need to make a change — bring someone in off the bench or make a lineup change,” Borrego said.
Borrego, an alumnus of Albuquerque Academy, is in his second season as an NBA head coach. He wasn’t reluctant last season to make changes — the Hornets started 12 different lineups — but Borrego and some of his players said he was probably too concerned with keeping every player happy as a rookie head coach.
Borrego told the Charlotte Observer in September he didn’t view it as his job to consider contracts, salaries or where a player was drafted in doling out minutes. With All-Star Kemba Walker’s departure to the Boston Celtics, general manager Mitch Kupchak said in the preseason no current Hornet deserves automatic playing time.
Borrego went into this season leaning toward playing young guys in close calls. For the most part, he’s done that, starting rookie P.J. Washington and secondyear players Miles Bridges and Devonte Graham. He has balanced that by bringing veterans Marvin Williams, Bismack Biyombo and Nic Batum off the bench.
When asked what options he has to shake up this rotation, Borrego said he isn’t reluctant to experiment deep into the roster if someone isn’t performing.
“We’ll just go down the line until we find a rotation that works. If you’re not ready to go one night, then next man up,” Borrego said. “As we said to start the season, no man has earned every minute of every game. You’ve got to go earn your time. To stay on the floor, you’ve got to produce.
“If you’re not, then I’m going to move to the next guy.”
Borrego has already shifted his rotation some over the first 18 games: He plugged in second-round rookie Cody Martin as a midsize defender. Martin’s minutes receded when Batum returned from a fractured finger.
Also, Borrego started third-year pro Dwayne Bacon at shooting guard, but Bacon struggled, particularly as a shooter.
BUCKS: All-Star forward Khris Middleton says he’s ready to return to the floor after missing two-plus weeks with a left thigh contusion.
After the Bucks’ shootaround on Tuesday, Middleton said he’s “gonna go” Wednesday at home against Atlanta.
Middleton has been sidelined since he suffered the injury Nov. 10 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. His return is ahead of schedule as he was initially expected to miss 3-4 weeks.
HAWKS: Guard Kevin Huerter will miss their upcoming road trip while he recovers from a shoulder injury.
Huerter strained his left rotator cuff when fouled by Denver’s Nikola Jokic on Nov. 12. He was examined again by team doctors Monday night and has been cleared to begin limited on-court work.
Tuesday night
NUGGETS 117, WIZARDS 104: In Denver, Nikola Jokic had a season-high 20 rebounds and Jerami Grant added a season-best 20 points to lead Denver over Washington.
Jokic finished one rebound shy of his career best and scored eight points in Denver’s sixth straight win.
Will Barton had 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Jamal Murray added 16 points and Mason Plumlee scored 15 for the Nuggets, who are 10-1 in November and ended a three-game home losing streak against the Wizards.
CLIPPERS 114, MAVERICKS 99: In Dallas, Paul George scored 17 of his 26 points in the first quarter and Kawhi Leonard finished with 28 as Los Angeles took control early in a meeting of teams with fivegame winning streaks.
The Clippers used several defenders to end Luka Doncic’s franchise-record streak of four games with at least 30 points and 10 assists. George had a career-high six steals as Los Angeles held the Mavericks under 100 points for the first time this season.
The Clippers limited the 20-year-old phenom to 4-of-13 shooting, including 0 for 7 from 3-point range. The Slovenian star made 14 of 16 free throws and finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists.