Five burning questions on the Charlotte Hornets beat

Five questions to consider as the 5-5 Charlotte Hornets head to New York for Tuesday’s road game against the New York Knicks.

Is this the best Nic Batum has ever played?

He certainly thinks so. Sunday he was asked for the last time he was as dominant as he was the past week. Batum replied he was 15, playing age-group tournaments in France. In his past four games Batum averaged 25.5 points, shooting 57 percent from the field and 58 percent from 3-point range.

Scoring isn’t typically what you think of first with Batum. Rather, it’s decision-making: When to pass, when to drive, when to take jump shots.

Hornets coach Steve Clifford said Batum’s understanding of the game’s nuances is elite. Monday he compared Batum to Steve Nash and Tracy McGrady in that regard. Clifford said Batum so understands his teammates’ games that he’ll wait an extra split-second to make a pass to a cutter so that his teammate gets a layup, not a jump shot.

If Batum can maintain this high level, the Hornets will have to pay substantially this summer to re-sign him. They could do an extension now, but that would have to be structured on Batum’s pre-existing contract. A new deal with maximum or near-maximum money couldn’t be signed until he becomes a free agent in July.

Is Al Jefferson back to being the old Big Al?

Yes and no. He returned to his previous sterling form Sunday and much of that was about teammates doing a better job of feeding him the ball close enough to the rim that he could finish plays.

That doesn’t negate the previous three games when he totaled 19 points and was held out of two fourth quarters.

This is a learning process. Jefferson has seven new teammates and many of them have primarily a scorer’s mentality. Playing with a true low-post scorer is an advantage, but it’s also an adjustment. There is a learning curve involved with getting the best out of Jefferson’s post moves.

What’s up with rookie Frank Kaminsky?

He sat out the Trail Blazers game, the first time he hasn’t played at least spot minutes this season.

I don’t think that’s Clifford losing faith in Kaminsky. Clifford constantly praises the rookie’s skill set and says Kaminsky will play more in a month to six weeks from now, as he better figures out how to play NBA-quality defense.

This is not Noah Vonleh all over again. Clifford said all the way back to when the Hornets drafted Vonleh that he was a long-term project who probably wouldn’t play much as a rookie. Then Vonleh needed surgery to repair a sports hernia, which cost him most of his rookie preseason.

Kaminsky used all four seasons of college eligibility and is highly skilled. He’ll get his chances in the second half of this season.

If P.J. Hairston can’t play Tuesday, who starts?

Hairston has a quadriceps contusion suffered in the first half against the Blazers. He couldn’t play the second half or practice Monday. The Hornets have listed him as doubtful.

The obvious alternative if Hairston can’t play versus the Knicks is to start Jeremy Lamb, except Lamb also missed practice Monday with a left shoulder strain.

If Hairston and Lamb both were to miss Tuesday’s game in New York, I’d think Clifford’s alternatives would be either to start Troy Daniels or to start Marvin Williams as a small forward and shift Cody Zeller into the starting lineup.

When does this brutal schedule stretch end?

The Hornets are in a span when they play seven games in 11 days. But it gets easier after Tuesday’s game in New York; the next seven games are all at home, starting Wednesday against the Brooklyn Nets.

Travel – particularly the in-and-out-of-town schedule of late – is what robs players of their energy. Letting them sleep in their own beds the rest of November should help.

This story was originally published November 16, 2015 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Five burning questions on the Charlotte Hornets beat."