What’s going on with PJ Washington? Answering your Charlotte Hornets questions
Move over, Scarowinds.
Through 15 games, the Charlotte Hornets have been on a rollercoaster of their own. From the exhilarating wins over Golden State and Brooklyn to the frustrating lows while entangled in a five-game losing streak, these first four weeks of the season provided a stomach-turning experience.
There’s no shortage of story lines, either, and it leads to several questions.
In this Hornets’ mailbag, we tackled reader queries about the center position, whether rookie James Bouknight will crack the rotation anytime soon and more.
Any update on P.J. Washington this week? Hopefully they give one before the game on Wednesday. — hornetsboy42 via Twitter
Thanks for leading us off with one of the most important questions. Actually, the Hornets did provide some insight into where PJ is with his hyperextended left elbow. He returned to practice on Tuesday, marking the first significant step toward a return since he was injured in the Hornets’ Nov. 3 loss to Golden State. Although he remains out for Wednesday’s game against Washington, he participated in structured contact and basketball activities. If all goes well and there are no setbacks, there is a good possibility he could be back on the floor and in the rotation during their three-game road trip that starts in Atlanta on Saturday.
Why are the Hornets so weak at defending bigs and defending the paint? Where are the Hornets going to be when regression hits and other teams make at least 36% of their 3-points shots? -- AlexPatrick94 via Twitter
The problem isn’t just on the interior. It’s across the board. They are ranked 26th in team defense. Digging in defensively has to start when the ball is above the 3-point line or near it. The guards and wing players can’t allow their man to beat them off the dribble and break down the defense on the perimeter so easily. The Hornets also don’t have anyone inside that strikes fear in players attacking the rim and their big men are foul prone. Not the best of combinations.
Possible options for improving the center position? — lindley2040 via Twitter
It’s way too early to tell who could be had on the trade market. Just look at the standings in both conferences and really only four teams have to be close to realizing the season is a wash: Orlando, Detroit, New Orleans and Houston. So unless you are talking about someone who’s on another team and is a disgruntled player and/or isn’t receiving much playing time, the true options are unclear right now.
If the Hornets somehow went the trade route, it most likely wouldn’t happen until closer to the trade deadline. If you wanted to dream big, Myles Turner would fit perfectly with the Hornets. But what is it going to take to get a player of his caliber? A whole lot. And general manager Mitch Kupchak will have to decide how much of their future assets he’s willing to part with to upgrade the position.
What’s the situation with (James) Bouknight? Borrego is going to have to put him in the rotation eventually. We can’t just sit our lottery pick for the whole year. If they don’t have any plans with him and Kai (Jones) right now, why don’t they just send him to Greensboro so they can get reps? — J2Bred via Twitter
Bouknight’s job is to stay ready until the Hornets need him. Where is he going to play at the moment and whose position is he taking in the rotation? And don’t say Cody Martin’s. He is the team’s top defender and is having his best season offensively by far. And Ish Smith had a couple of DNP-Coach’s decisions because Borrego wanted to use Terry Rozier more at the backup point guard spot. Bouknight isn’t jumping ahead of any of them. Expect to see him shuttled back and forth to the G League to suit up for the Greensboro Swarm. Same goes for Jones. If anything, Hornets fans should be kind of thrilled their lottery pick hasn’t really been needed yet. When was the last time they had that luxury?
Do you think once PJ comes back they will play more small ball with Plumlee off the floor? And especially in crunch time what do you think their eventual best five will be? — Hhester11 via Twitter
That should absolutely be the case. PJ is usually the first big man inserted off the bench, typically for Mason Plumlee. His presence draws the opposing center closer to the paint’s edges and out from underneath the rim. When he’s hitting from 3-point range and spreading the defense, the Hornets are hard to beat. He just has to knock down that shot from straightaway more frequently.
As for their best closing lineup, to me, it’s LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward, Miles Bridges and Kelly Oubre. The problem is if teams play big it’s hard to have Bridges playing the center spot. So in theory, that is where Washington comes in. But I just think Oubre provides more versatility and better length defensively.
Do you have any insight on whether Borrego will continue to play a nine-deep rotation even if it means Ish (Smith), (Jalen) McDaniels or (Nick) Richards not getting minutes when PJ comes back? — RufusDLynx via Twitter
I don’t think he will go much beyond nine, but there will be nights when Borrego elects to reach double digits in the numbers of players he inserts into the game. Most of it will depend on matchups, coupled with who’s hot. But there are going to be many occasions when at least two — if not all — of the three mentioned above will not peel their warmups off.
What is it with Terry? He’s not so scary anymore. Just a shell of his former self. — Manofpans4 via Twitter
He’ll be fine. With him getting injured directly after the conclusion of the preseason, he didn’t have a chance to truly get assimilated into the core plays and rotations the Hornets wanted to look at heading into their opener. When Rozier played in the second game of the season in Cleveland, it was obvious he wasn’t right and it’s taking a couple of weeks for him to get it going. Besides knocking off the rust and rounding into game shape, Rozier is trying to slide in where he fits in and not disrupt team chemistry. Remember, they had a 3-2 record without him. Scoring 20 points in the second half against Golden State and pouring in 29 versus the Los Angeles last week are good signs he’s busting out and inching closer to his normal form.
