Charlotte lost ninety-seven to eighty-nine in Detroit. At the break, the Hornets led fifty-two to forty-four. I note both, one after the other, without comment.
According to BasketNews, Charles Lee decided at halftime that Naz Reid would not come back out. Thirteen minutes, seven points, six rebounds, two shots made out of six. In his post-game interview, he said: “Unfortunately, Naz didn’t meet our standards in the first half, and at halftime we made the decision that he wouldn’t play in the second half.”
I opened my binder. My sheet has six columns. Fouls, time-outs, points, and the rest. None of them is called standards. At our place, when a player doesn’t come back after the break, I only find out when his name stops turning up on the sheet. The reason, I don’t write down. Nobody gives it to me, and I don’t ask.
Royce O’Neal took his spot in the second half. That, I know how to write: one number coming on, one line.
Before this game, Reid was averaging 19.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in four games with Charlotte. The coach added that he looks forward to Reid meeting those standards in the next game. The next one is Friday, against Washington, the NBA Cup opener. New sheet, empty columns.
Noted: second half, bench, reason not provided for on the sheet. It’s on the sheet.
It’s true, we checked: BasketNews.
