Hornets have to figure out how to use Devonte Graham while LaMelo Ball excels
Charlotte Hornets guard Devonte Graham is listed as questionable for Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves as he recovers from a groin strain.
Whether Graham continues to start and how much he plays were still open questions following practice Thursday.
Rookie LaMelo Ball has excelled in six starts at point guard. A series of injuries to Terry Rozier, P.J. Washington and Graham made it easy to fit the 6-foot-7 Ball into the starting lineup.
He’s has played so well in those starts (averaging 21.5 points and 6.3 assists) that it’s hard to imagine him returning to the second unit. What then of Graham, who has started 76 consecutive games?
Coach James Borrego said he wasn’t ready to decide Thursday how he’d use Graham upon his return.
“No matter if he’s a starter or off the bench — if he plays first quarter, second quarter, fourth quarter — the guy produces for us,” Borrego said. “Having him back on the floor is a good problem — a good thing for me and for us.
“Obviously, I have to figure out those rotations as we go. I can deal with that. That’s my job.”
Graham went through a shooting slump early this season but has improved of late. He is scoring 14.3 points this season, compared to 18.2 last season, but that’s partially due to the additions of Ball and free agent Gordon Hayward.
Graham is still having a major positive impact this season, based on ESPN’s real plus-minus system, which ranks him 15th in the NBA.
“Devonte is a big part of our program. We missed him,” Borrego said.
The Hornets didn’t hold a shootaround Friday morning, so Graham was unavailable to be interviewed. Borrego said Thursday he didn’t yet know if Graham would be on a minutes restriction if he’s cleared to play vs. Minnesota.
The Hornets’ 3-point trade-off
Borrego decided going into this season to prioritize guarding the rim, knowing that means Charlotte would give up a lot of 3-pointers as a result.
The Hornets allow four fewer points in the lane this season (46.2, compared to last season’s 50.5). That’s 13th-best in the league in that defensive category.
However, they are allowing 15 3s made per game, up from 12.4 last season, and that is third-worst among the 30 NBA teams.
The 3-point liability has been more pronounced of late, with the Hornets giving up 18 or more 3s in seven of their last 14 games, including 26 to the Utah Jazz and 23 Wednesday to the Grizzlies.
Borrego said after two seasons of poor defense, he concluded he had to commit to one area over the other. He isn’t backing off that position. However, he said the Hornets gave up far too many wide-open 3s in allowing the Grizzlies to shoot 23 of 49 from deep.
“There were definitely a number of shots that were too clean for them,” Borrego said of Memphis.
“The best (defensive) teams can do both: They take away the rim and they take away the 3. Those teams? God bless them, we’re trying to get to there. For us, we’re committed to doing at least one thing extremely well. And work on the margins of the 3-point line.”
