6 Takeaways From the Hornets' Preseason Loss to the Celtics

Christian Anderson Jr. played his first preseason game for the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night after missing two with a sprained ankle. The Boston Celtics won 114-93 at TD Garden, and Charlotte dropped to 1-2 in the preseason.

Four Hornets did not play: Kon Knueppel, Coby White, Grayson Allen, and Grant Williams. Charlotte turned the ball over 30 times.

Anderson scored 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Two of his makes came from 3-point range, and he had 2 steals.

The time off went into practice and film.

"I think just preparing, practice, trying to practice how we're going to play," Anderson said. "I think that helped me just come on the court and kind of be ready. But also, my teammates, coaches keeping me ready, watching film, and my teammates making it as easy as possible for me to kind of just fit into the game plan seamlessly. So I think that for sure."

Charlotte drafted Anderson out of Texas Tech with the 18th pick on June 23.

Communication is part of the job Anderson sees for himself.

"Pressuring the ball, being disruptive on defense, not trying to give guys easy looks, communicating, and also just somebody who can be trusted with the ball, make plays," Anderson explained.

At halftime, Miller had 2 points on 1-of-9 shooting. He scored 14 after the break. Charlotte trailed by 18 in the third quarter before a 14-3 run cut the deficit to six.

Miller started and played a team-high 27 minutes. He finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists, plus 2 steals. Before the road trip, Miller credited winning plays with building his confidence.

Hornets coach Charles Lee said Charlotte's pace runs through Miller.

"I think that we get to see when he steps on the court, he has a great two-way mindset," Lee said. "We feel his impact defensively and then offensively. He can score in a bunch of different ways. He playmakes in a bunch of ways. He's really vital to our pace."

"I think that when he's out and running, guys are looking for him," Lee continued. "They trust him with the pass. I think that he really opens up a ton of things for us offensively and then again, love the impact he's given us defensively."

Schröder started and scored 5 points. Charlotte attempted 42 3-pointers and scored 20 points in the paint, 36 fewer than Boston.

Lee leans on Schröder in the locker room as much as on the floor.

"I expect number one, you see defensively he's picking up guys full court," Lee explained. "I think he's really impacting the other team's ability to get into their offense. Sometimes they're having to really get into their clock or they're running offense from a half court. And then I think offensively he does a great job of getting us set, putting us in the right positions, getting a piece of the paint. At times, we can become a little bit of a jump shooting team. I think he helps us break the paint and create some better looks."

"So I also look to him off the court," Lee added. "I think that he has great relationships with our young players. He's been in playoff situations, he's been in hostile environments, he's very comfortable and secure in who he is, and he understands what's needed of you in every type of situation."

Charlotte took Steinbach 14th overall, four picks before Anderson. He came off the bench Wednesday. In the preseason opener against Brooklyn, he scored 7 points with 4 rebounds in 14 minutes, and he entered Wednesday averaging 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds across two games.

Steinbach and Schröder are both from Germany.

Screening angles and running the floor are where Lee wants Steinbach's attention.

"I would just continue to grow," Lee said. "For a young player, we try to do a good job of player development, of really trying to minimize the things that he has to worry about focusing on, and so if he can really do a good job focusing on the small things, about his competitiveness, the details that it takes to really like screen at a better angle and running the floor."

"He's got such a good natural feel for the game," Lee noted. "We're really excited about his future."

Reid started and scored 12 points with a team-high 6 rebounds. He came to Charlotte this summer in the six-team trade that sent LaMelo Ball to Minnesota.

Lee has said he wants to expand Reid's offensive role.

Sion James led the Hornets with 4 assists.

Neemias Queta made 7-of-8 2-point attempts and finished with 16 points off the bench. Luka Garza added 14, and over the final eight-plus minutes he outscored Charlotte 11-9 by himself during a 22-9 Boston run that closed the game.

Boston assisted on 31 of its 44 made field goals. The Celtics had 16 steals, and Derrick White led them with 4.

Mitchell Robinson blocked 3 shots for Boston. Charlotte finished with 2 blocks as a team.