{"id":237419,"date":"2026-04-19T00:08:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T00:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/237419\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T00:08:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T00:08:39","slug":"orlando-magic-physicality-too-tough-for-charlotte-hornets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/237419\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando Magic physicality too tough for Charlotte Hornets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Orlando. Fla.<\/p>\n

In a moment that Nostradamus probably could appreciate, following the morning shootaround, Charles Lee offered insight into the type of challenge the Orlando Magic posed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe theme of their team is, how do you get to the paint, how do you play tough and physical?\u201d the Charlotte Hornets<\/a> coach said. \u201cSo, it\u2019s going to be important for our guys to understand their tendencies and try to hopefully protect the paint as a collective unit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Never happened, though, and as a result, the NBA\u2019s longest playoff drought extends to a full decade.<\/p>\n

Unable to match the physicality of the home team from the opening tip, the Hornets were in a hole within a couple of blinks and never got it going in a 121-90 loss at Kia Center on Friday night.<\/p>\n

Ending the season with a thud, especially after the emotional rollercoaster ride of Tuesday\u2019s overtime victory over the Miami Heat, has to hurt. The trick now is for the Hornets to learn from this experience.<\/p>\n

\"Charlotte Charlotte Hornets guard Brandon Miller, right, pushes Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black, left, aside during action at Kia Center in Orlando, FL on Friday, April 17, 2026. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re one step away from being in the playoffs, so I don\u2019t want to discredit that,\u201d Lee said, \u201cbut this has got to hurt a little bit. And you\u2019ve got to think about this offseason. When you\u2019re in the weight room, when you\u2019re on the court. What am I going to do to go that extra mile to get even better, because we had a ton of growth this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t 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 continue to grow. And we earned an opportunity to be right there. So, ton of good, but that was not our best effort\u201d<\/p>\n

Which is why the Hornets can\u2019t have amnesia and must remember how it felt to get virtually punched in the mouth from the outset. Shots that left them staggering and dazed to the point where they essentially were never in it, only mustering a one-point edge in the early going before falling behind by as many as 35 \u2014 to a team that reportedly had some infighting going on, leading to rumors that Orlando coach Jahmal Mosley will be out of a job whenever the curtain closes on the Magic\u2019s season.<\/p>\n

\"Charlotte Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball, left, drives to the basket against Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero, right, during action at Kia Center in Orlando, FL on Friday, April 17, 2026. The Magic defeated the Hornets 121-90. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com <\/p>\n

LaMelo Ball<\/a> was battered around, collecting three fouls that forced him to take a seat with more than seven minutes remaining in the first half. That foul trouble led to the Hornets\u2019 star point guard mustering only two points on six shots through two quarters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew that they were going to be real physical,\u201d Ball said. \u201cSo, we\u2019re telling all our teammates, players and everything, be physical.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead, the Hornets couldn\u2019t even muster clean screens against Orlando.<\/p>\n

Six offensive fouls were whistled on Charlotte for illegal screens, with the bulk transpiring in the first half. During the first 15:15, the crew of Marc Davis, Sean Wright and Justin Van Duyne called five illegal screens on the Hornets.<\/p>\n

\"Charlotte Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams, right, disputes a call with official Marc Davis, left, during action against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center in Orlando, FL on Friday, April 17, 2026. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s just us fighting off physicality,\u201d Brandon Miller said. \u201cI feel like we\u2019ve been guarded physical. I think we do a great job of screening at times just to try to get a defender off of one of our handlers or one of our creators. So, just having that in our mind through next year, just kind of be calm with the screening. That and then the patience by the ball-handlers.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody plays a part in screening \u2014 the ball-handler, the screener, communication between everybody on the court. So, just having that in our mind going into next season will be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee suggested the officiating didn\u2019t make it easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that we actually hung in there with the physicality,\u201d Lee said. \u201cIt was interesting trying to figure out the whistles. 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 we got called for one.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it was hard. I almost think it softened up our guys a little bit to figure out how do I actually get open if we\u2019re not allowed to screen for one another?\u201d<\/p>\n

Either way it\u2019s dissected, the Hornets were just doomed by inability to handle Orlando\u2019s force. And in order to take that leap into becoming a team in the actual Eastern Conference playoff field, that must be rectified in some capacity.<\/p>\n

\"Orlando Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane, left, stretches out trying to regain control of a loose ball with Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges, right, during action at Kia Center in Orlando, FL on Friday, April 17, 2026. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com <\/p>\n

It\u2019ll be up to the Hornets to figure out what that improvement looks like and how they get there. But in facing some of the NBA\u2019s upper echelon, such as the team they would have played if they advanced \u2014 the Detroit Pistons \u2014 it\u2019s crystal-clear they have to solve that issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt obviously hurt a lot,\u201d Ball said, \u201cbut I feel like it\u2019s all just learning lessons. You live, you learn, you evolve, and you move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which is why Lee wants them to stay focused on the bigger picture.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet this fuel you,\u201d Lee said. \u201cBut also don\u2019t take for granted the fact that you guys earned a ton of respect from everyone throughout the league with how hard you played, how well you played. And I think that they also helped build another stepping stone for this organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 12:07 AM.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Charlotte Observer<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Roderick Boone<\/a><\/p>\n

The Charlotte Observer<\/p>\n

Roderick Boone joined the Observer in September 2021 to cover the Charlotte Hornets and NBA. In his more than two decades of writing about the world of sports, he\u2019s chronicled everything from high school rodeo to a major league baseball no-hitter to the Super Bowl to the Finals. The Long Island native has deep North Carolina roots and enjoys watching \u201cThe Fresh Prince of Bel Air\u201d endlessly.
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