A high school lesson got Hornets’ Cody Zeller back on track in victory over Wizards
Charlotte Hornets center Cody Zeller probably believes he should play more than 12 minutes a game.
However, he knows that’s his problem, not coach James Borrego’s.
“My high school coach used to say, ‘If you want to play more, play better,’ ” Zeller said following a 114-104 road victory over the Washington Wizards.
Zeller did play better Tuesday — far better. In 24 minutes off the bench, he totaled 16 points and 13 rebounds. It was arguably Zeller’s best game of the season, and came at a time when he had fallen to the margins of Charlotte’s rotation.
It was clear in the second half of the road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers that Borrego was displeased with Zeller’s play. Zeller didn’t start or play in the second half of that March 18 loss. He then missed the next two games with a shoulder injury, but that wasn’t the cause of his not playing in the second half versus the Lakers.
Bismack Biyombo replaced Zeller as the starter in the six games since, and the Hornets have gone 4-2. Zeller totaled just 39 minutes in his three games prior to Tuesday.
Borrego met with Zeller recently to make sure they were on the same page. Zeller assured Borrego he would stay ready and engaged regardless of how many minutes he played the rest of the season. Borrego said that wasn’t just talk; Zeller has put in extra cardio and drilling lately to stay sharp.
A lot at stake for Cody Zeller this summer
Zeller will be a free agent this summer for the first time in his eight-season NBA career (he signed an extension with the Hornets in 2016 before his rookie contract expired). It would be understandable if he was anxious over his drop in playing time.
Instead, he put Borrego at ease. However this goes, he will understand and adapt as the Hornets chase a playoff spot.
“I’ve played in the league long enough to know there will be stretches of the season when different guys are going to play well,” said Zeller, the fourth pick in the 2013 draft. “Minutes sometimes will be high one week and maybe less in others. ... When I play 15 minutes, I get in extra conditioning.”
That reflects something Borrego appreciates about this group — an absence of me-first knuckleheads. Borrego knows every NBA player wants heavy minutes. That can’t happen. Processing that professionally matters.
“All of these guys believe they should be playing, and want to be playing. But the mindset has got to be ‘I’m here to do my job when coach calls on me,’” Borrego said. “In general, all 16 of our guys have that approach.”
Center minutes might be unsettled all season
Center is a problem position for the Hornets:
Zeller is the best mix of size and offensive skill, but he’s not a rim-protector. Biyombo is the better defensive option, but is limited offensively. Power forward P.J. Washington plays part-time at center, but his 6-foot-7 height is a matchup limitation.
Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak hoped to add a player in the buyout market, but big men Andre Drummond, LaMarcus Aldridge and Gorgui Dieng signed elsewhere. The Hornets’ current center mix is likely what it will be the rest of this season.
That means the minutes mix will keep shuffling: Zeller and Biyombo are essentially a tag team, so which one starts or plays more is a game-to-game call. Washington is always an option at center, but likely not the first one.
Zeller told me in November he considers starting “the most overrated thing in basketball.” That doesn’t mean he doesn’t care — he has an ego like all professional athletes. It means he doesn’t allow what he can’t control to distract him from what he can.
That’s a personality you want on your team, starter or otherwise.
