What’s gone right and wrong? Here are seven thoughts seven games into the Hornets’ season
Exciting, maddening and frustrating.
Those three words are good descriptors of the first two weeks of the Charlotte Hornets’ season, a stretch they’ve mostly gone without injured LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier. While they’ve had some incredibly surprising wins – like at home to Golden State or in Atlanta – there has been more than a smattering of numbing defeats.
Monday night provided the latest fodder, coming against a team that rolled into town with a lone victory in the win column. The Hornets’ 115-108 loss to Sacramento at Spectrum Center mirrored their see-saw play through a half-dozen plus games.
Consistency isn’t quite there yet for the Hornets (3-4), who have a plethora of things to continuously work through. Here are seven observations on what’s gone right and what’s gone wrong in the early season:
Smart to wait
Avoiding the injury bug for a full season is nearly impossible and there’s always the potential for assorted ailments to derail things. But the Hornets have been rather unlucky in the past few weeks, dating back to the tail end of training camp.
That’s when Ball came up gimpy in Charlotte’s second-to-last preseason game and exited in the third quarter with an ankle injury. He looks closer to a return with each passing day, tantalizing fans with his pregame warmups before reappearing on the bench in street clothes during game action.
Not rushing the 21-year-old back is the right move, even if it means waiting a few extra days to lessen the chances of him tweaking his ankle and creating soreness that could potentially linger for weeks. The same goes for Rozier (ankle) and Cody Martin (quad).
Each have participated in on-court activities of late and there is a possibility at least one of them could be available at some point during the Hornets’ upcoming two-game road trip that begins in Chicago on Wednesday and concludes in Memphis on Friday.
And as good as others have fared in their absences, getting two of their top scorers and one of their best defenders into the lineup should provide a boost and inject the Hornets with some fresh bodies to help during an upcoming stretch of 14 games in 27 days.
Washington may add Franklins
PJ Washington bet on himself when he didn’t accept the Hornets’ final offer before the deadline for rookie contract extensions expired. last month And it may lead to him cashing in big time if he plays the way he has in his past two outings.
By posting 25 points against Sacramento, it marked the first time Washington has totaled at least that many points in consecutive games. The 59 points the fourth-year big man racked up in the team’s past two outings also represent the largest output he’s accumulated in back-to-back games.
He’s doing it in a variety of ways, displaying his versatility, and he’s been solid defensively while guarding the likes of taller players such as Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis. Washington has swatted five shots combined in his past three games.
The Hornets would also be better served to post up Washington on occasion and let him facilitate things from down low, ensuring they play more of an inside-out brand of ball that could help them during scoring nights when perimeter shots aren’t falling.
Center of attention
Nick Richards has been exceptional off the bench and it won’t be long before the outside chatter begins in regard to whether he should be the starting center. This would be rather ironic since there was a certain segment of fans ticked off early in training camp when coach Steve Clifford suggested Richards had the lead ahead of rookie Mark Williams and others.
Yes, Mason Plumlee has his moments and can be quietly effective. No, he is not going to do anything overly impressive that makes one jump out of their seat. He sneakily fills up the box score at times, but those good things can be greatly overshadowed by misgivings in his game – like a 55.6% career showing at the free-throw line that’s driven him to switch to shooting them left-handed.
Plumlee has to be more mindful of situations and feature better awareness in those critical moments, which are magnified on occasions. Notably, the turnover he had in the closing seconds of their loss to the Kings. Giving the ball up sooner on fast breaks, making sure he’s not reaching in for ticky-tack fouls and digging in to protect the paint are also necessities.
The ball isn’t sticking
Even without their top playmaker, the Hornets haven’t been stopped from getting everyone involved. In fact, the team is among the league leaders in the main category indicating how much it shares the ball.
The Hornets find themselves fifth in assists per game, boasting an average of 28.4 that trails only San Antonio (31.1), Phoenix (29.7), Golden State (28.7) and Utah (28.6). They recorded 22 assists in the first half against the Kings, which was a season-best for a half, and had one on all but four of their field goals through the initial two quarters.
Four players are collecting at least 4.2 per assists per game for the Hornets and the production is coming from various positions, including the 4.8 being racked up by Plumlee.
Dennis Smith Jr. is hungry
It’s been obvious for more than a while now: Dennis Smith Jr. is taking his latest opportunity and doing sprints with it.
Smith Jr. slid into the starting point guard spot following the injuries to Ball and Rozier and quickly morphed into one of the season’s biggest surprises. He’s a stat sheet stuffer in every sense.
The 24-year-old is just the third player to stockpile at least 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals in a game so far this season, joining Miami’s Jimmy Butler and Atlanta’s Dejounte Murray. His defense is immeasurable, as Charlotte native and Golden State star Steph Curry can attest, and he has a knack for using his length to make things difficult.
Smith Jr. has the Hornets set at backup point guard, which means Clifford can afford to give Rozier more of a chance to rest rather than be forced to insert him to run the offense whenever Ball isn’t on the floor.
Thor not there yet
JT Thor can’t seem to find his offensive rhythm.
Although he’s appeared in each of the Hornets’ games, the second-year forward is averaging just 1.7 points and didn’t attempt a shot in two of his past three appearances. He worked hard on his 3-pointer during the offseason, but it hasn’t translated on the floor as of yet. Thor is 1-for-8 beyond the arc and 3 of 10 overall.
His long wingspan gives him the ability to contest shots on the perimeter and inside and it’s among his intangibles. Until he can prove he can drain his fair share of jump shots, though, that’s what he’s going to have to rely on in order to get playing time once the reinforcements return.
Bouknight can’t bust out
He’s far from being out of his slump and looking anything like the player who displayed flashes of brilliance in his rookie season, but James Bouknight is slowly giving off signs of gaining more confidence.
Bouknight has nailed multiple 3-pointers in three of his past four games and topped double digits in scoring in two of them. The 36% he’s shooting during that span might not appear very flattering. However, it’s much better than the 0-for-15 combined display in the first two games.
He’s probably going to be counted on more further down the line in the season. And it’s on him to stay ready and prove his worthiness of being a lottery pick in the draft a year ago.
This story was originally published November 1, 2022 at 10:06 AM.
