PHOTO | CHARLOTTE HORNETS

Playing time at guard for the Charlotte Hornets is bound to be at a premium with Terry Rozier Devonte Graham (pictured) batling Malik Monk and LaMelo Ball for minutes.

The Charlotte Hornets could really be worth watching in 2020-21.

They were playing their best ball at the end of the truncated 2020 campaign, which was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. They weren’t invited to the Orlando bubble experience and obviously didn’t make the playoffs – for the fourth straight year – but the reclamation project undertaken by GM Mitch Kupchak and coach James Borrego has new parts to go with intriguing holdover assets.

In that spirit, here are six touchpoints as training camp quickly melts into the regular season.

Have a Ball, LaMelo
There’s a lot of hype surrounding the third overall pick, which should be good for the Hornets, who can use a marquee name in the worst possible way. The rookie held his own playing professionally overseas the last couple of years, but this is the NBA and Ball will need some space to grow.

Ball doesn’t have a polished scoring arsenal, but his best asset – passing the ball – should get a chance to shine early. If he shows a willingness to defend on the wing or smaller point guards, Ball will get plenty of opportunities to show what he’s got. Look at it this way: as the third pick overall, the Hornets and Ball need to get this pairing off to the hottest start possible.

How will Gordon Hayward fit?
Six years after signing him to an offer sheet that Utah matched, Charlotte finally landed Hayward in free agency. In the last three seasons in Boston, the 6-7 forward averaged 13.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 28.9 minutes per game.

Hayward was a role player with a mature and talented Celtics squad, but he’ll get a chance to shine in Charlotte, which needs his shooting (48.4% from the field with Boston) and leadership.

Who’ll make the biggest leap?
While some might argue P.J. Washington (12.2 points, 5.4 rebounds per game last year as a rookie) will jump to alpha status, don’t bet against Devonte Graham to continue his rise to prominence.

Graham wasn’t a finalist for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, a mystery after going from 4.7 points and 2.6 assists per game as a rookie to 18.2 and 7.5 in his second season, but it should be motivation enough to improve. Playing time in the backcourt is bound to be fierce with Terry Rozier, Malik Monk and top draft pick LaMelo Ball in the rotation, but Graham is up to the challenge.

Smaller and athletic
You can’t play if you don’t run could be this year’s mantra. Coach James Borrego is assembling a squad that can get up the floor, starting with the draft day haul signals that Charlotte is getting with the times for positionless basketball with an emphasis on creating or solving matchups.

The open question this season is how well this group adapts to Borrego’s defensive scheme.

Monk’s growth
There were flashes of consistency for Monk last season on the way to a career-best 10.3 points per game. Then he was busted for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, which put a major wrinkle in the Hornets’ rotation.

Monk’s served his time and by all indications Borrego is excited by what can be accomplished as Monk tries to live up to expectations that have been lofty going on four years now.

Be big, play bigger
While the Hornets are banking on smaller players to make the leap on both ends of the floor, there’s still a need for bigs who can make contributions.
Cody Zeller is still on the roster, but he’s a tradeable asset after averaging 11.1 points and 7.1 boards last year.

Among the youngsters, rookie Vernon Carey Jr., a second-team All-America who averaged 17.8 points and 8.8 rebounds a game in his lone season at Duke, has some range at 6-foot-10.

Another rookie, Nick Richards (14.0 points, 7.8 rebounds per game as a junior at Kentucky), has the athleticism and range to chip in some playing time.

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