Hornets are confident they have the talent to win in NBA

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

More is expected of LaMelo Ball in his fourth season with the Charlotte Hornets after signing a supermax contract extension during the offseason.

There’s a new excitement around the Charlotte Hornets.

Entering the second year of his second stint as head coach, Steve Clifford believes that this is the most talented team he’s ever coached. Whether the Hornets can put the pieces together for their first playoff run since 2016 is yet to be seen, but guard Terry Rozier believes Charlotte has the pieces – and dedication – to compete in a much-improved Eastern Conference.

“I think I’m way more excited this year than I’ve ever been putting on a Charlotte Hornets uniform,” Rozier told reporters at the team’s media day. “When you’ve got eight to 10 guys out there that are really talking and can really go get a bucket for themselves, communicating and playing defense - and we all got that togetherness. You can just tell that everybody is buying in, and that will make the difference. This means a lot for us to all be here early and having guys show improvement from last season to this season.”

Rozier, who spends his summers in Miami, returned nearly a month early for the team’s optional workouts, taking advantage of three additional weeks of preparation before the team’s training camp officially began on Tuesday.

To the surprise of Miles Bridges, who is aiming to land on an All-Defensive team list following his 10-game suspension, it wasn’t just Rozier who returned early. It was the whole team.

“My first few years here, all the vets didn’t come back until the week of training camp or the week before. It was kind of surprising seeing all the guys being back, and that just shows commitment,” Bridges said. “We’re ready to win. We’re trying to get better.”

Following an injury-plagued season that featured just 27 wins and only 36 games with their $260 million man LaMelo Ball, the Hornets are relying on their summer work, good health, and 22 days of training camp to gel before the season opener against the Atlanta Hawks on Oct. 25.

Ball knows that the goal is playing past April 20 when the NBA’s post-season begins.

“We’re shooting for the playoffs, that’s first,” he said. “Just getting in there and making some noise.”

With another season of NBA hoops on the horizon, let’s look at the Hornets’ identity, which hinges on the availability and next steps from Ball.

Fast-paced identity

While Clifford is a defensive-minded coach, he is hopeful the Hornets’ transition game rewards his players’ efforts on the defensive end with high-percentage – and potentially highlight – opportunities.

“Our team is made to run. We need to run. And we ran last year,” Clifford said. “We did play fast, but we didn’t take good shots, or we weren’t efficient when we played fast. As much as our game has changed, one thing has stayed the same –offensive efficiency starts with the ball hitting the paint. That will never change. It’s a game of penetration.”

In 2022-23, Charlotte had the seventh fastest pace in the NBA, averaging 104.9 possessions per game, but the lowest effective field goal percentage in transition, at 57.4%. And turnovers eliminated a chunk of those shot attempts, with 10.7% of Charlotte’s transition opportunities ending with an unforced error.

After missing last season, Bridges is preparing for his first year under Clifford. One difference is the structure on the court, where Clifford has laid out roles for his team.

“I like the way that Cliff does things,” Bridges said. “For Cliff, it’s more structured. We’re still getting out in transition, but we know who’s going to be shooting the ball and facilitating, and everybody knows their role. That’s the (biggest) difference between [former coach James Borrego] and Cliff.”

And the Hornets have one of the best facilitators in the league in Ball, who set career-highs in points (23.2) and assists (8.4) in his injury-shortened 2022-23 season.

While the Ball-to-Bridges alley-oop passes - that routinely caused Hornets play-by-play announcer Eric Collins to lose his mind – were paused for a year, the duo will be back on the court soon, looking to climb the ranks of NBA relevancy and add to their total of just four nationally televised games, which includes NBA TV.

That next step requires leadership, and LaMelo has 260 million reasons to make that jump.

LaMelo’s leadership

Ball, who is now wearing ankle braces following successful surgery to repair his fractured right ankle in March, is entering his fourth year in the NBA. He recorded 17 double-doubles in just 36 games a season ago and showed enough promise that general manager Mitch Kupchak and the Hornets extended the five-year maximum contract extension deal up to $260 million, despite Ball not playing all 82 games once in his young career.

He is far and away the face of the Hornets’ franchise and is under contract for the next six seasons. The next step in his game is becoming a leader, and veteran teammate Gordon Hayward is looking for a giant leap in that department.

“His approach has been a little different. You can tell that this is year four in just how he approaches the work and how he’s approached these last three weeks,” Hayward said. “I don’t think there’s any more time for ‘We’re a young team. It’s just their first couple of years in the league.’ It’s about that time now. I’m looking for big leaps from him not only as a player but as somebody that our team, teammates and coaches can lean on when we get in these tough situations throughout the year.”

Ball has never been known for vocal leadership, mainly his ability to light up a scoreboard and fill the stands with his flashy playstyle.

Rozier knows Ball’s leadership isn’t as pronounced as Chris Paul, Draymond Green or LeBron James. It’s unique, like his jump shot, and something the Hornets franchise has never seen.
“Everybody leads differently. I think Melo has a unique talent, and he is who he is,” Rozier said. “I think the way he leads is going to be a little different than people expect, but at the same time, it’s something that we’ve never seen before in this game – especially in a Hornets uniform.

“You get paid the big bucks – you got that respect all around. Melo’s different. He’s always had that respect; that’s just who he is,” Rozier continued. “He’s the same every day; you wouldn’t really notice the $260M. He’s still cheap as hell, though. That’s my boy. He stays the same no matter what.”

Ball knew this time would come. He knew it when he signed the richest contract in Charlotte team sports history. And with training camp underway, Charlotte’s leader is now tasked with elevating a mix of new and returning players, including number two overall pick Brandon Miller.

“You can feel he knows how to play the game. Playing alongside him already feels right,” Ball said of Miller. “(Being) more of a leader is pretty much the main thing. It’s more of a task. You knew that’s what it was going to come to, so I’m just taking that role and growing in it.”

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