With the 19-20 NBA season well under way, fans have received an extended look at the young ball club belonging to the Queen City. Many differences separate this team from the Hornets of yesteryear, but it’s a challenge to not feel like the more things change, the more they stay the same. Without further ado, let’s look at some of the highs and lows of the season thus far for Charlotte.
High: Devonte’ Graham. This one is obvious. It’s difficult to analyze the team’s performance this year without acknowledging the tremendous impact that Graham has had on the court. From a 40 point explosion, to Spencer Dinwiddie taking to Twitter to let the world know that the Hornets guard should win the Most Improved Player award, it’s very evident that Devonte’ has things going right for him. At the time of this writing, he ranks 2nd in the entire league in made 3-point field goals, and 3rd in total assists. Graham also leads the league in minutes played and before the losses to OKC and Memphis was shooting above 40% from behind the arc (currently at .392%). Finding stats to support Graham’s ascension into star player territory isn’t difficult at all. 19 points and ~7.5 assists per game while hitting 40% from deep (on 9.5 attempts per game!!) is a stat line that no fan ever dared dream of for any of our beloved players, and one that no doubt has lead to much of the Hornets relative success on the court. This is also a win for second round draft picks and Hornets GM Mitch Kupchak. My final praise for Devonte’ Graham is this: Graham has proven that he is capable of performing at the level of Hornets legend Kemba Walker.
Low: The Wing Rotation. The play from Hornets wings this season leaves something to be desired almost any way you slice it. For this analysis, Malik Monk will not be considered a wing player, though that doesn’t save him from criticism (27% from deep? Oof). Any Hornets fan already knows that Nic Batum needs to be traded for a nice new mouse pad/cut/stretch-and-waived/DNP-CD’d permanently or really anything that keeps him from seeing court time. The only supporting evidence needed to bolster this point is the following link to an At The Hive article in which it is explained how Batum is statistically the WORST player in the NBA at putting the ball in the hoop (you know, the entire point of the sport). https://www.atthehive.com/2019/12/10/21004284/charlotte-hornets-nicolas-batum-is-officially-the-worst-scorer-in-the-nba. Next up is Dwayne Bacon. Despite heavy rotation minutes to start the season, it’s clear that Bacon has lost some of the trust and confidence that his coaches had in him. Bacon’s calling card seems to be his ability to get points, which is absolutely a necessary role on any basketball team. The issue here is if that’s the primary reason you’re on the court, you have to do it all the time and Dwayne isn’t up to that task, at least not yet. Going further, as a wing player in today’s NBA it’s almost essential that you can drain jump shots and more importantly 3s, consistently. While his current field goal and 3pt percentages (31% and 22%, respectively) are most likely made worse by spotty minutes and change in role/lack of rhythm, it’s obvious that there’s no room on the court for that level of inefficiency from the floor. No doubt the aforementioned inefficiency has heavily factored into coach James Borrego’s recent strings of DNP-CDs for the third-year player. There isn’t a good way to describe that situation as anything other than disappointing or unfortunate. Lastly, Miles Bridges’ play also leaves fans (or at least this one) wanting a little more production out of his minutes. That being said, Miles is largely getting a pass here for a few reasons. 1) The guy is logging heavy minutes every night against the opposing team’s best perimeter player 2) His veteran presence on the wing is Nic Batum 3) He’s asked to do a ton of things on a young team as a second-year player 4) Bridges is more comfortable and willing to take and make shots from deep which is an improvement that’s always welcome, especially considering Charlotte’s reliance on the three ball. Personally, I would love to see a little more consistency and play-making defensively from Bridges given his athleticism and motor. At least with Miles there’s reason to believe improvement and growth will continue to happen. With the other players on the wing that’s a little harder to see.
High: PJ Washington. Look, as a Charlotte Hornets fan I can’t tell you the last time that this franchise drafted a player who immediately came in and earned a starting spot, logged meaningful and productive minutes, while establishing themselves as a future building block as a rookie. If you want to make yourself sad go back and look at Charlotte’s draft history (which I would advise against) and you’ll see exactly what kind of terrible drafting this fan base has endured. Cody Zeller is probably the most recent player closest to meeting those requirements and with all due respect and appreciation for Cody, that’s a stretch. Zeller is a member of the 2013 NBA draft class and really didn’t start and play big minutes until his second season. Go back another year and be reminded of the then Bobcats drafting MKG #2 overall because somehow the worst team of all time didn’t land Anthony Davis. Not exactly what I would call a building block. Finally, go back one more draft and you’ll find who was the last draftee that the Hornets got “right”, a guy you could build around and was obviously ready to compete at a high level on a nightly basis in the NBA, a starting caliber player for years to come…Kemba Walker. WHO WAS IN THE 2011 DRAFT. Now, is PJ Washington an all-star caliber player? Maybe, maybe not, it’s too early too tell. However, PJ Washington IS an all-rookie team caliber player right now and holy smokes does that feel good to type. Watching him play, you can tell that he belongs. His length bothers opponents around the rim, he seems to have very solid instincts when it comes to the game on both sides of the ball, his touch around the basket is deceptively smooth and polished, and of course (there’s a theme here) he stretches the floor well by knocking down shots from 3pt land. What more could you ask for in a modern day big? This is a 21 year-old averaging roughly 12.5pts, 5rbs, 2ast, and a steal and a block per game. He’s doing this in around 30 minutes a game, as a rookie, while shooting close to 50% from the field and a scorching 41% from downtown. In his first game as a pro he set his current career-high at 27 points, going 7-11 from deep which is the NBA record for most 3pt shots made in an NBA debut. PJ wasn’t a flashy pick and hasn’t had a ton of standout performances, but you have to like the return the Hornets have gotten so far on their 2019 first-round pick. Getting production like this out of rookies, especially given Charlotte’s unBEElievable ability to always draft somewhere between 9-13 (more on that coming), is the exact type of thing that will lead to greater trust in the management and coaching staff from fans.
Low: Record/Standings. Aaaaah, the treadmill of mediocrity. At the time of this writing the Hornets’ record sits at 13-22, good for the 10th spot in the NBA’s much weaker conference. Based off win percentage, Charlotte is 22nd out of 30 in the standings. Granted, it’s still early in the season and there’s a plethora of teams with similar records in both conferences so trying to predict final records/draft position isn’t a worthwhile exercise at this point. Even though that is the case, it certainly feels like the Hornets are once again destined to miss the playoffs while winning too many games to be high enough in the draft order to snag a player that will truly ‘move the needle’. In a year where the priority is player development, it’s easy and exciting to pull for the young guys to scrap together wins. It helps that this team is fun to watch, as well. Of course you want your players to improve and to see your team win. The problem with that is obvious, win too many games and you’ll be right back where you were. Which in this case is something like 9th in the East, on the outside looking in, a snowball’s chance in hell of beating a 1 or 2 seed if you did sneak into the playoffs somehow, and ending up trying to find the best value you can get with the 12th or 13th pick in next year’s draft. It’s getting really old at this point. Additionally, it makes it tough for fans, some will want the front office to make moves that will help the team compete now, while others will hope the losses pile up in order to get that better draft pick. This is the vicious cycle that the Hornets franchise has been trapped in for around 6 or 7 seasons now. I’m not advocating for tanking, I wouldn’t do that, but at some point you really start to glorify what it would feel like just to see meaningful change for better or worse. Realistically, this may not even be a concern later in the season considering the team has dropped 5 straight games and has a pretty tough schedule ahead the next few weeks. While that’s true, I can’t help but feel like the Hornets are better than many of the teams close to them in the standings, such as: Chicago, Orlando(?), Detroit, Memphis or Sacramento. There may be some bias there, but you get the point. Being a mediocre NBA team with no draw for free agents isn’t the future you dream of for your favorite franchise. Here’s to hoping Charlotte can break the cycle.
Additional Comments: Team stats seem to point towards the Hornets regressing a little bit, as they are bottom five in both Offensive and Defensive Rating currently. They also are 28th in pace which is both surprising and a slightly concerning. If you dive into the stats or just watch the games, you’ll notice what has kept Charlotte in games and has lead to them winning games is undoubtedly their ability to catch fire from deep (mentioned multiple times). Before the last two losses Charlotte had three players shooting at or above 40% from 3, Marvin Williams, PJ Washington and Devonte’ Graham, and if you recall Graham is shooting 39% right now. That’s really encouraging. Terry Rozier is shooting 38% from long range, as well. Terry has specifically impressed when it comes to catch-and-shoot 3s. Speaking of Scary Terry, I feel as if a lot of the pre-season criticism and moaning from fans has largely gone away because he’s proven himself and you know what, that’s awesome. Rozier is far from perfect, but he’s far from a dumpster fire also. The Graham/Rozier backcourt is likely here to stay for the foreseeable future, and they’re the main reason Charlotte wins games as it is so that situation could absolutely have turned out much worse. Cody Zeller is also having a good season, and a relatively healthy one too. I hope Zeller can become even just somewhat of a threat from deep, wouldn’t that be great? Cody Martin is such a pleasant surprise (and those are the only the two players in NBA history named Cody, apparently). This may not be a popular opinion, but I’m hoping that Marvin Williams will take a pay cut and sign back with franchise when his contract expires (hopefully around 9mill/year or less). Financial flexibility this upcoming offseason will at least give the Hornets some options, and are options are always a good thing. All stats sourced from Basketball Reference.
Really, there’s a lot to like about the direction in which the team is headed. Youth and flexibility are just what the doctor ordered to breathe fresh air into this roster as the franchise turns a new leaf. This new-look Hornets team definitely has flaws and will be taking plenty of Ls in the near future, but it’s a future that has this fan buzzing with excitement.
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