5 Reasons Why the Charlotte Hornets are Struggling

Nov 15, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Lance Stephenson (1) stands on the court during a break in the action against the Golden State Warriors in the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Hornets 112-87. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Lance Stephenson Isn’t Meshing Well

There’s a reason the Hornets targeted Gordon Hayward first in free agency.

The Jazz sharpshooter would have fit perfectly in the starting lineup next to Kemba Walker and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, especially since the team desperately needed another scoring option and a capable three point threat.

Unfortunately, Charlotte had to settle for option B, better known as Lance Stephenson, and so far the results have been disastrous.

Through 18 games, Stephenson’s points, field goal percentage and efficiency have all decreased across the board when compared to last season, not to mention, he’s also been benched in the 4th quarter of the last 2 games.

This in turn, has caused the Hornets to be far less effective when Stephenson is on the floor, dropping their scoring average by 4.4 points when he’s actually playing.

Head Coach Steve Clifford believes the expectations were set far too high for Stephenson, and in return, have effected his overall level of play since the start of the season.

Per James Herbert of CBS Sports:

"“To be fair, one of the things that’s made it more difficult for him is that he came here and people proclaimed him as the next superstar,” Clifford said Wednesday. “He’s not a star. He’s a guy that has talent to become a star. To be a star in this league, you have to do it over years… Everybody proclaimed him as this guy, and if you remember the first time we got him, I said he’s got to develop into that.”"