Does it really matter how precisely a play is ran if, in the end, it’s a missed opportunity? It’s a question to think because there is a natural tendency to dismiss plays that don’t result in points. If baskets aren’t scored, the chances are the plays that occurred on those possessions won’t stay lodged in your memory banks after the game is over. And we see them all the time — a kick-out to a brick, a beautifully threaded bounce pass that’s mishandled, an open lane for a dunk that’s saved by a great contest. Plays that could have been. Here’s where we pay our respects.

The Hornets shot a putrid 28.9% against the defensively challenged Suns on Friday night and finished the game with an 86.7 offensive efficiency. That’s bottom of the league poor. They did it by missing from everywhere, even at the rim, where they managed to shoot only 48%.

One of those misses came off a well-designed set that caught the Suns sleeping and gave Marco Belinelli an open lane for a layup. Here is a video of the play:

Even though the play ends in an ugly miss, there is still good action in the set itself. At the start, Hornest forward Al-Farouq Aminu sets a cross-screen on the Sun’s Marcin Gortat. Gortat’s man, Emeka Okafor cuts across the paint to establish deep post position. As Okafur moves toward the block, Belinelli sprints around a Carl Landry screen and curls toward the basket.

Hakim Warrick, not exactly a defensive savant, doesn’t pick Belinelli up as he comes off the screen while Jared Dudley, Belinelli’s defender, gets caught up in it allowing Okafor to feed him with a well-timed bounce pass near the rim.

Belinelli doesn’t meet any opposition until he’s one jump from the basket and even then Grant Hill moves to avoid the foul. Here is the play again:

If the Hornets want to avoid being in the West’s bottom rung, they need to avoid missing opportunities like this.

There are countless advantages to playing alongside a top-five talent in this league, but there’s an added bonus when said talent requires constant attention in the painted area. That’s what Glen Davis has now in Dwight Howard.

Davis steps into an offense littered with jump shooting specialists intent on spreading the floor open for Howard. With stretch-fours and capable wingmen, it’s no surprise that the team has led the NBA in attempts from downtown the last two seasons. Even though it’s a highly criticized philosophy, that’s the Magic way — 4 out-1 in, three-pointers or layups.

Davis doesn’t have three-point range but he has a reputation for being a solid jump shooter because he made one on a big stage one time and attempted 355 shots from 16 – 23 feet last year, 7th most among all power forwards, despite only shooting 35% from that distance. Playing with Howard will only continue to provide him with those opportunities, but will it be the best option available? It was against the Heat.

The Magic repeatedly ran the same double-screen set during their third-quarter comeback against the Heat on Wednesday with Howard and Davis setting screens and Jameer Nelson attacking based on his read.

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