Hornets rookie KJ Simpson says team is tired of ‘underdog mentality’

On Friday afternoon, the charlotte hornets He almost pulled off an upset against the New York Knicks in the NBA Cup.

Charlotte was without the services of LaMelo Ball, Tre Mann, Miles Bridges, Nick Richards and Mark Williams, but gave the Knicks all they could handle. In fact, the Hornets held a small lead for much of the game, in part due to their stinginess on the defensive end of the floor.

Hornets head coach Charles Lee had to count on some of his youngsters to step up, and they certainly did. First-round pick Tidjane Salaün finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, while rookie KJ Simpson had 11 points, two assists and two steals.

As encouraging and impressive as it was for the Hornets to stay close against one of the best teams in the East, KJ Simpson is not happy with the result.

“It sucks to lose. I hate losing. I’m a bad loser. I’m pretty sure the entire team is. Nobody likes to lose. It’s also frustrating because we’re missing some guys; That’s just basketball. Obviously, we’re frustrated because we certainly could have gotten this win and just like the other game, we could have gotten it. We’re just tired of this mentality of coming up short. We’re right there. It’s nothing to go crazy about. We’re right there. We have to start tomorrow with the same mentality.”

The Hornets will do it again tonight against the Atlanta Hawks, looking to end a four-game losing streak.

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