Expect more minutes for inexperienced players such as James Bouknight, JT Thor, and Kai Jones.Īs mentioned earlier, Charlotte enters the season with postseason expectations.
Ultimately, the Hornets continue to harbor postseason aspirations, and plan to rely on their extensive youth taking the next step in development, as well as Clifford’s penchant for producing teams that can defend at a high level. That situation left Charlotte in somewhat of a holding pattern for the entire summer.
Outside of the firing of Borrego, the most significant offseason development the Hornets experienced was the felony domestic violence charges faced by Bridges. Charlotte re-signed its best defender in Cody Martin to a four-year deal, and selected center Mark Williams out of Duke with the 15th pick in addition to signing Anthony Duruji, Isaiah Whaley, Jalen Crutcher and Jaylen Sims to Exhibit 10 contracts. Interestingly, Kupchak’s search led him back to coach Steve Clifford, who had been fired after the 2017-18 season, to lead a team that will be virtually the same group – minus Miles Bridges and Montrezl Harrell – as last season. Kupchak hoped to add “another coach to bring us hopefully the same kind of improvement that coach Borrego gave us the first three years.” So, general manager Mitch Kupchak made the decision “to go to another voice,” he said, that would accelerate the development of a young squad with what appears to be a bright future. Last season marked the second consecutive campaign that Charlotte lost its first Play-In game as the 10th seed. James Borrego led Charlotte to 10-win improvements in three consecutive seasons, and the team’s arrow appeared to be pointing up when the young Hornets fell to Atlanta in the Play-In Tournament. This Hornets team plays with one of the fastest paces in the league, as they rank 5th in the league in Pace right now, and they are almost impossible to try and stop in transition.Īs mentioned before, LaMelo Ball is the catalyst for this team on offense, knocking down three-pointers with ease and creating opportunities for others on this roster, but he does not actually lead the team in scoring this year, nor does former All-Star forward Gordon Hayward.Continued growth from LaMelo Ball and Cody Martin will go a long way in determining Charlotte’s season.
Trust in one another and trust in their player development program has made the Hornets one of the fastest starting teams during the 2021-22 season and they are not going to be slowing down anytime soon, literally! One of their leading scorers from a season ago in Terry Rozier has been sidelined due to an ankle injury and has only played 23 minutes to this point in the new season, so how has this year’s Hornets team put together impressive wins at home over the Pacers and then on the road against the Cavaliers and Nets? LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Top Way-Too-Early Breakout Performers Of 2021-22 Season
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