There is plenty of room for optimism with the Charlotte Hornets. Here are some reasons why
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is as familiar as anyone with the Charlotte Hornets.
So while some around the league are just catching onto the Heat’s Southeast Division rival — buoyed by national television exposure on night’s like Friday — best believe Spoelstra is fully in tune with the Hornets’ progression.
“This is not something that happened overnight,” Spoelstra said. “They built a program and this has been steady incremental growth. It hasn’t been linear. That’s what happens to young teams. If you stay with it and you have a good program with rock-solid coaching and you have consistency of the message, the philosophy and culture, you can start to make some progress.
“They have a lot of really talented young players that have grown up in those systems and developed the right habits.”
Leaving Miami on the wrong end of a 114-99 result against the reigning division champs indicates the Hornets still have some work to do. And as painful as it may be, it’s not always a bad thing for a little reset.
“These are games that force you to look at your weaknesses, areas you can get better, improve in and that’s what we forced ourselves to do today,” coach James Borrego said Saturday. “As long as we are open to it, we’re honest about it and we respond to it that’s all I’m worried about.”
There is plenty of room for optimism. A look at some reasons why the Hornets are 4-2 and in their current position:
OFFSEASON ADDITIONS FITTING IN
A scan of the roster leading into training camp lent plenty of insight into the major difference between this crop of Hornets compared with a season ago. Plugging up some of the holes was at the top of general manager Mitch Kupchak’s offseason wish list after watching the team stumble down the stretch of the condensed 2020-21 campaign.
The additions of Kelly Oubre and Ish Smith looked good on paper, but it’s always hard to tell if the new players mesh together with the key returnees until they actually face live competition for a few games. Suffice to say, those two have fit in and then some, assisting in alleviating some of the offensive workload missing with team leader and last season’s top scorer Terry Rozier missing all but one game.
Originally pegged for a sixth-man role and to be an insurance policy behind Gordon Hayward, Oubre has comfortably executed from the starting shooting guard spot. He posted double figures in four of the six games and is hitting 3-pointers at a 35.7% clip, which is better than his 32.7% career showing.
Smith is engineering the second unit in near flawless fashion. Remember his crowd-wowing outing against Brooklyn? It had ex-teammate Kevin Durant giving him props in the Barclays Center’s underbelly before Smith hopped on the Hornets’ bus.
MILES SKYING TO NEW HEIGHTS
If there was ever a time to blast off into another stratosphere and open up eyes to the point of earning Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors, it’s during a contract season.
The cash register is already ringing up plenty of dollar signs for Miles Bridges.
Bridges and the Hornets didn’t reach an agreement on an extension prior to the Oct. 18 deadline, meaning he is headed for restricted free agency in the summer. This monstrous start is only increasing his value and pushed him into a territory where he should command a deal worth at least $100 million.
Inside. Outside. Rebounding. Defense.
Bridges is doing everything for the Hornets. Whatever it takes to win.
SIGNS OF DEVELOPMENT
Few, if anyone, had to see this coming.
The wing position is a bit crowded and it was unclear weeks ago if Cody Martin could elbow his way into a role. Defense was always his strength and oftentimes getting consistent offense was a bonus.
Through a half dozen games, he’s offering up both. Martin topped double figures in scoring in all but one outing, is also shooting 50% from 3-point range (his career average is 27.5%) and nailing 85% of his free throws.
Martin’s steady improvement is notable, as is the development of his fellow second-round picks. Jalen McDaniels is making the most of his spot minutes, and Nick Richards proved to be more than serviceable as a rotational fill in when he slid in while PJ Washington was out nursing a sore right knee.
Although it has been a small sample size, the contributions of all of them bodes well for the team’s prospects this season.
SLOW BEGINNINGS
One thing was lost in the euphoria of that franchise-best start and it’s part of a troubling pattern.
In each of their victories, the Hornets dropped into a hefty deficit and needed an incredible rally to pull it together. The odds of that continuously happening are minimal, especially as the level of competition is raised over the coming week when the Hornets head to the West Coast for dates with Golden State, Sacramento, Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Exposure nationally is growing and the word about their exciting level of play is spreading with the speed of a LaMelo Ball full-court pass. They aren’t sneaking up on teams, instead often playing from behind. Double-digit deficits are the norm, the largest being a 26-point hole against Miami.
Runs of 24-0 and 19-2 aided the Hornets’ furious rallies and spurred them to wins. They understand it’s something they can’t keep relying on.
