Hornets open the preseason tonight in OKC. Here are the 3 things we’re looking for
As far as PJ Washington is concerned, the NBA’s schedule-makers didn’t need to have the Charlotte Hornets waiting a whole seven days into the preseason before sending them onto the floor against another opponent.
He would’ve been perfectly fine with that happening earlier in the week. Just pick a date on the calendar ending in a “y.”
“Every day, honestly,” Washington said Sunday. “For us, it’s been good all week. We’ve felt like we’ve been preparing really well. Everybody has been locked in, everybody has been in the right spots, everybody has been looking good. So for us, we’ve been ready to play somebody else. We can’t wait to get down there to Oklahoma City and try to get a win. But it’s been great this whole week, just playing against each other and getting better.”
With training camp now behind them, it’s full speed ahead into the preseason for the Hornets. The first of four games begins with their matchup against the Thunder at Paycom Center on Monday. And it couldn’t have come soon enough, apparently.
They’ve had it with the brotherly banging going on in practice.
“We’re kind of tired of beating up on each other,” Miles Bridges said. “We want to play against somebody else. So I feel like that’s going to help us understand who we are, these preseason games coming up. And we want to take it seriously and get better.”
Here are three things to watch for in the Hornets’ matchup with the Thunder:
Who starts and how long will they play?
For the most part, the Hornets’ opening lineup is set.
The backcourt features LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier, and Gordon Hayward starts at small forward. With his passing skills and ability to be a playmaker at his position, Mason Plumlee is the presumed starter at center. That leaves only one position that isn’t completely ironed out yet: power forward.
It comes down to whether coach James Borrego thinks Bridges fits in better with the first group or if he would prefer to bring him off the bench among the game’s first substitutions to serve as an energizer. Inserting Bridges with the group at the game’s outset allows Borrego to capitalize on Washington’s versatility. Washington’s best play often comes when he’s operating as a stretch “5” and using him in a reserve role permits Borrego to take full advantage of that strength. Interchanging him with Plumlee gives them a different look and may force the opposing coach to make a counter move.
Against the Thunder, the starters will not play a whole lot. Instead, they should break a slight sweat and find themselves cheering on the younger crew for a bulk of the second half. That will probably ramp up a bit in the two games following Monday’s prior to scaling things back in their Oct. 13 preseason finale against Dallas.
“Yeah, it’ll be the lowest-minute game out of the four,” Borrego said Sunday. “I have a number in my head and I’m still working through it, but I’ll get the report now from Joe (Sharpe, the director of health and team performance) on their bodies and see where they are at. I don’t expect a major run, but a good healthy run by our main guys and then second half we’ll go with a younger group or a different core.”
Can they consistently execute?
Throughout the duration of training camp, the coaching staff slowly installed a portion of their offensive and defensive principles. While no one expects them to be flawless in their execution, being knowledgeable about the inner workings of the team’s schemes and knowing where to be on the floor during certain sets is extremely important.
Far too often, that typically leads to breakdowns. Particularly on defense. Now is their chance to smooth over some of the kinks.
“We just want to click, have that chemistry,” Ball said. “So we can build something starting from that game.”
That’s what Borrego has his eyes on.
“The communication, the talking, the consistency on the defensive end, seeing that,” he said. “And then offensively, our guys they’ve done a great job sharing the ball. Basically what we’ve hit on these last five days, I want to see (Monday) at a high level in our effort, our communication and in our talks.”
How will the new guys fare?
The Hornets ushered in more than a few faces during the shortened offseason, ranging from inexperienced rookies to veterans who’ve spent more a decade in the league. Getting them all acclimated will be a process.
Besides incorporating them into the overall scheme, it’s going to take time to completely figure out how to fully take advantage of their strengths. Whether it’s charting where a certain individual is successful or those areas of inefficiencies, the data the coaches gain from preseason action could be invaluable.
It provides them with an opportunity to better evaluate players and get deeper insight on the likes of James Bouknight, Kai Jones and the rest of the Hornets’ rookie draft class in an unfamiliar environment. The juices will surely be flowing through their bodies as they their embark on their first preseason action.
“They should be excited,” Borrego said. “I don’t want to take that away from them. Obviously, they are human beings. I’m not going to try to pull them back. I want them energized and playing with great effort and energy. But the biggest thing is the consistency out of the young guys. From one play to the next, making sure they are talking with their vets, making sure they are communicating with each other. But I‘ll learn a lot about them. There’s a lot to learn here, but I’m just looking for great effort and attention to the details we’ve worked on so far at camp.”
This story was originally published October 4, 2021 at 6:30 AM.
