Celtics had a clear advantage over the Hornets in just one department

The Charlotte Hornets faced an early-season test in the form of a back-to-back set against the defending champions, the Boston Celtics.

The pair of games was seen as a good barometer for how far along the Hornets are on the road to becoming one of the cream of the crop in the Eastern Conference. It would have been better if they were at full strength, although Boston also had key players missing because of injuries.

Unfortunately, Charlotte went 0-2, with both contests ending in double-digit losses. Its first two Ls this season were decided by single-digit margins.

Officiating seemed to have favored the Celtics over the Hornets

On the bright side, the Hornets were competitive in the matchups before rallies by Boston ended their hopes of stealing a victory or two. The glaring problem of starting slow manifested itself again in both meetings with the Celtics, as they gave up an average of 39.0 points per game in the first quarters. Still, the Hornets managed to fight back and make them one-possession games before Tatum and company started pulling away again.

However, the foul and free-throw disparity was just too tough to overcome.

In the first leg of the back-to-back, Charlotte was whistled for 26 fouls, 13 more than the Celtics committed. That led to 35 free-throw attempts from the side of the reigning champs, with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown responsible for 23 of them.

Meanwhile, the Hornets made just 12 trips to the charity stripe. LaMelo Ball, whose increased aggressiveness this season has resulted in frequent battles with foul trouble, went to the line three times. Before the first Hornets-Celtics tiff, he had been averaging 6.3 free-throw tries per game.

The Saturday rematch saw a similar trend, with Boston again being called for significantly fewer fouls (25-17) and awarded more free-throw attempts (28-9). Tatum alone had 17 trips to the foul, while Ball couldn't draw a shooting foul even once. It's also worth noting that the returning Brandon Miller wasn't given the benefit of the whistle in his poster slam over Tatum, who hacked his arm and held onto his jersey.

If the foul and free-throw battles had been on a level playing field, the Hornets probably would have gone home with two wins. After all, they recorded more field goals and 3-point shots in both matches.

Despite the losses and going down 2-4 in the standings, there were plenty of positive takeaways for Charles Lee and his wards. For one, the NBA world saw that Charlotte won't go down without a fight, regardless of who the opponent is.