Hornets fire head coach James Borrego

James Borrego (YouTube)

The Charlotte Hornets have fired head coach James Borrego of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Borrego was fired after the Hornets were unable to make the 2022 National Basketball Association playoffs.

The Hornets did qualify for the play-in tournament in 2021-22 with a record of 43 wins and 39 losses, but were completely spanked 132-103 by the Atlanta Hawks in the 9-10 game in the play-in tournament  in the Eastern Conference. In the Hornets most important game of the year, they were completely outplayed by the Hawks at the center position. Hornets center Mason Plumlee only had three points and four rebounds in 11 minutes, while Hawks center Clint Capela had 17 rebounds and 15 points.

Borrego had coached the last four seasons for the Hornets, and were unable to make the playoffs in any of them. He posted a regular season record of 138 wins and 163 losses for a winning percentage of .458. The firing could come as a little bit of a surprise because the Hornets had their first winning season with Borrego as their head coach in 2021-22. However, the signs of improvement were not enough, as the Hornets completely came up flat in their biggest game of the season.

The Hornets coaching job was the second head coaching job Borrego has had while in the NBA. He was with the Orlando Magic for 30 games in the 2014-15 season, but only posted a record of 10 wins and 20 losses. That season Borrego took over from Jacque Vaughn, who Orlando fired on February 5, 2015. In addition to being the head coach of the Hornets and Magic, Borrego has been an assistant coach with the University of San Diego, the San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Hornets, and Magic.

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