The Hornets defensive quality is really too low. Can the Clippers veteran insiders get a lot of shooting opportunities?

In the previous NBA regular season, the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Charlotte Hornets at home 131-116. After this game, the Clippers' record, which ended their three-game losing streak, improved to 5-11, and their ranking rose to 11th in the Western Conference; while the Hornets' record, which suffered a five-game losing streak, has dropped to 4-12, continuing to rank 12th in the Eastern Conference.

In this game, the performance of the Clippers' backup center Brook Lopez rarely had any major problems. Lopez played 14 minutes and 52 seconds, shooting 4 of 10 from the field and 3 of 7 from beyond the three-point line. He scored 11 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 block. He also had 2 fouls, with a plus-minus of +7. Lopez also got a lot of outside shooting opportunities on the offensive end, and he and Chris Paul were indeed able to have quite good effects after the pick-and-roll, and the opponent could not even effectively restrict them. In addition, Lopez's problems on the defensive end have not been exposed, and opponents have not taken advantage of his shortcomings in movement speed to carry out targeted attacks. Overall, Lopez's performance in this game was pretty good, and he helped the team's second team stabilize the situation and made his contribution to the team's victory.

In the NBA regular season last season, Lopez played a total of 80 times on behalf of the Milwaukee Bucks in 82 games, averaging 31.8 minutes per game. According to statistics, he had 13 points, 5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.6 steals, 1.9 blocks, 1.1 turnovers and 2.1 fouls. He shot 50.9% from the field, 37.3% from the three-point range, and 82.6% from the free throw line. In the playoffs, Lopez played a total of 5 times, averaging 14.8 minutes per game. He averaged 5 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.2 steals and 1 block per game. He also had 0.8 turnovers and 2.2 fouls. He shot 36.4% from the field, 26.7% from the three-point range, and 100% from the free throw line. Since the start of this season, Lopez has averaged 14.6 minutes per game in the first 16 games, averaging 6.7 points, 2 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game. He also has 0.8 turnovers and 1.8 fouls. His shooting percentage is 41.3%, three-point shooting percentage is 36.5%, and free throw percentage is 72.7%.

Lopez's performance this season can be said to be disastrous. His offensive efficiency is very average, his performance beyond the three-point line is very unstable, and he is a potential colander on the defensive end. His overall performance can be said to have no redeeming qualities. However, the Clippers recognize his abilities very much and have always given him a lot of playing time and performance opportunities, but his performance has not improved at all. In this game, facing the Hornets whose defensive situation was in a mess, Lopez's performance was indeed okay, but after all, the opponent was just the Hornets who had not figured out their defensive positioning. Will Lopez maintain this level when facing stronger opponents? At least I'm skeptical.