Are Gordon Hayward, LaMelo Ball enough to put the Hornets in the playoffs this season?
The Charlotte Hornets are fed up with being irrelevant in the NBA.
“The Hornets, we haven’t been a good organization for a long time,” forward Miles Bridges said Thursday. “Let’s be honest about it — everybody here, we’re tired of that.”
There’s only one remedy: Make the playoffs for the first time since 2016. It has been four seasons since the Hornets won 48 games to reach the postseason; only one player from that team — center Cody Zeller — remains in Charlotte.
The Hornets made significant changes this offseason. They drafted point guard LaMelo Ball third overall. Then, they acquired free-agent forward Gordon Hayward, a former All-Star.
Is that enough to be a playoff team? Dicey. But there was legitimate hope as the Hornets began group practices Friday at Spectrum Center.
“That’s what you dream of: playing on that big stage, in the playoffs, where every possession matters,” Zeller said
“It’s so tough to win in the playoffs, and the young guys haven’t experienced that yet. We have to prepare now like we’re heading to the playoffs.”
Hornets vs. the East
Charlotte’s roster is clearly improved. They were the most starless team in the NBA last season. Hayward becomes their most talented and versatile player — arguably the best free agent in this class to change teams.
He isn’t quite what he was athletically before a devastating 2017 injury — a dislocated ankle and fractured tibia. But he does a little of everything skill-wise: One of the NBA’s best mid-range shooters, a savvy ballhandler/passer, and big and strong enough to play switching defense.
He wanted a bigger role than he had with the Celtics, and the Hornets surely need him to be their go-to guy.
Ball is a creative passer with size. He doesn’t shoot well and needs to play more focused defense. But new teammates are already buzzing about Ball’s constant energy during practice.
Add those two to a young core of Devonte Graham, Terry Rozier, Bridges and PJ Washington, and the Hornets are at least in the playoff conversation.
Here’s the problem: Other teams in the East improved, too, while only one playoff team from last season, the Orlando Magic, clearly declined.
It’s fair to assume that, barring major injuries, six East teams are playoff locks: The Bucks, Heat, Nets, Celtics, 76ers and Raptors. The Pacers are probably the seventh-best team, and the Magic looks lottery-bound.
If the Hornets are chasing one of two spots, their competition is the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards, both of whom also made major changes.
The Hawks had abundant salary-cap room, and spent hard in free agency. Shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic is a big upgrade, and veterans Danilo Gallinari, Rajon Rondo and Kris Dunn provide Atlanta great depth.
The Wizards made the biggest trade of the offseason, swapping John Wall and a future first-round pick to the Houston Rockets for former league MVP Russell Westbrook.
The Wizards might eventually regret absorbing the last $132 million on Westbrook’s contract. But for now, Washington has an elite backcourt in Westbrook and Bradley Beal, plus one of the NBA’s best 3-point shooters in Davis Bertans.
Are the Hornets better than the Hawks? I don’t think so. Are they better than the Wizards? I don’t think so.
Play-in tournament
Fortunately for the Hornets, the NBA used the restart at Disney to experiment. They are retaining the play-in tournament, which gives teams with each conference’s ninth- and 10th-best winning percentages a last chance at the eighth and final playoff seed.
Are the Hornets good enough to finish 10th in the East? Absolutely. And that experience would have development value, even if it only added a game or two to the season, because of the stakes.
Think back to what Zeller said about the playoffs — that “every possession matters,” well beyond any regular-season game.
Graham, Bridges, Washington and Ball haven’t experienced that. Even if they get just a taste of postseason tension, it’s invaluable.
And 10th place is certainly not beyond their reach.
This story was originally published December 4, 2020 at 6:30 AM.
