Despite a young and talented roster, the Charlotte Hornets continue their woeful ways
Ah, the Charlotte Hornets. Folks, I smell trouble.
As we head out of the NBA All-Star break, and into the stretch run of the 2019-20 season, the Hornets have the sixth-worst record in the NBA. They boast a lackluster 18-36 record and went 3-7 in their last 10 games heading into the All-Star break.
On paper, the roster is not as bad as it appears on the court. Terry Rozier was signed in the offseason to be the replacement to Kemba Walker. The backcourt duo of Rozier and Devonte’ Graham have been able to be an underrated tandem, with each averaging over 17 points and four assists per game.
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The rest of the youthful bunch is comprised of players such high flyers Miles Bridges and Malik Monk, who have both taken steps forward in their game and have become solid supporting cast members. Lastly, rookie PJ Washington has been an excellent shooter and has been a consistent contributor all season.
A young and inexperienced team generally yields lackluster statistics. Charlotte is no exception.
Through their last 10 games, the Hornets are at the bottom of the league in points, field goal percentage and 3-point percentage. They have the worst true shooting percentage, the worst offensive rating, and rank 29th in pace of play and plus/minus.
The defense shows slight promise, as they are 18th best defensive rating, but allow the 17th most points off turnovers and 27th most points off second-chance points.
Growing pains indeed.
The problem with the Hornets is that this is not anything that we have not seen before. Since their rebirth as the Charlotte Bobcats in 2004, the franchise has gone to the playoffs a whopping three times. They wasted seven years of Kemba Walker by never bringing in quality pieces to support him (looking at you Nicholas Batum and Al Jefferson).
James Borrego does not seem like the coach of the future. Mitch Kupchak is not the right GM and we all know Michael Jordan’s track record as an executive.
The time is now for the Charlotte Hornets. A solid young core of players should not have the best years of their playing days wasted by a franchise who does not understand what it takes to consistently win in the NBA.