Stock up, stock down: Moussa Diabate, Defense, and Ball Security

The Oklahoma City once again took care of the Charlotte Hornets, securing a two-game "sweep" of the Bugs in the preseason.

As always, there was a little bit of good and bad, and we'll highlight some of those after each game with our stock up, stock down series throughout the course of the season.

Stock Down: Defense

Through two preseason games, I haven't been all that impressed with how the Hornets have defended. I get it's against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, but the efficiency by OKC is alarming, especially when you consider the heavy minutes their reserves are getting. Giving up 30+ in six of the eight quarters is not a good start. I'd like to see more communication away from the ball to erase or limit some of those easy looks at the rim.

Stock Up: Moussa Diabate's offense

Remember last year when Moussa would put up Dennis Rodman-like numbers? You know, like one point and 16 rebounds versus Detroit or no points and 11 rebounds versus Miami? Well, I don't want to say those days are officially in the past, but we saw him improve as the season moved along last year, and he's off to a pretty efficient start through two games, converting 8-of-14 attempts. If he can average 10-12 per night, that helps this offense tremendously.

Stock Down: Ball security

I'm always hesitant to overreact to high turnover numbers late in the year, and I still don't know if I want to put a ton of weight into this, but 36 turnovers in two games isn't ideal. LaMelo will naturally throw it away a few times per game due to his style of play, but the boneheaded/sloppy turnovers are what have to be limited by everyone. You can't play inconsistently on the defensive end of the floor AND have turnover problems.

The Hornets will be back in action tomorrow night in Dallas, taking on the Mavericks at 8:30 p.m. ET. You can listen to the gam live on WFNZ Radio (610 AM or 102.5 FM).

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