Rome was not built in a day, even in the place where the miracle of the NBA was born, a team from the bottom of the perennial rankings, wanting to enter the playoffs and even hope to compete for the championship, it is not an overnight thing. .
In a blink of an eye, the 2020-2021 NBA regular season has been fiercely fighting for a month, and the eastern and western patterns are still in fierce turmoil, especially in the Eastern Division, where the team is competing, except for the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Boston Kyle. The specials, the Indiana Pacers and the Brooklyn Nets are five strong teams that rank among the top five in the Eastern Conference. The seven teams currently ranked sixth to thirteenth in the Eastern Conference are expected to compete for the remaining three playoff spots. . Among these 7 teams, the Charlotte Hornets are definitely a team to watch.
As the team of the god of basketball, Michael Jordan, the Charlotte Hornets (formerly the Charlotte Bobcats) have been at the bottom of the Eastern Conference since joining the NBA. The impression that the Charlotte Hornets are only Played a playoff game under Walker's leadership. Although the draft picks won every year are very high, but Jordan's draft vision always misses those truly talented players perfectly. This legendary superstar who has achieved great success in the player era has a real vision when he is the owner of a team. Can't flatter me.
The offseason signings were questioned but a big success
However, Jordan is off this year The various operations of the period have achieved considerable success so far. First of all, Jordan used a pick to pick out the 20-year-old point guard Ramello Ball in the draft, and then signed the former All-Star forward Hayward with a four-year contract of 120 million US dollars.
This signing seemed absolutely stupid at the time. Hayward has experienced devastating injuries in his career. Although he was in good shape last season, he was 30 years old after all, and there was very little left in his peak period, even if Jordan intended. Signing Hayward, there is no need to give such a high fat contract. What's more, in order to make room for salary, Jordan did not hesitate to buy out Batum with an annual salary of 27.13 million US dollars.The latter ushered in a new life after joining the Los Angeles Clippers. This series of operations made Jordan's human eye again on the cusp.
However, this season has only been played for a month, and the schedule has not yet been halfway or even one-third of the game has not yet been played. The Hornets proved that Jordan's choice was not wrong with a brand new performance. So far this season, the Hornets have achieved a record of 7 wins and 9 losses, temporarily ranking 11th in the East, but the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are ranked sixth in the East, are only one win. This season, the Hornets have indeed transformed from that slaughtered Eastern belly into a team that is expected to return to the playoffs.
Hayward’s various data set new highs and dreams of returning to the top
in the most recent game In the game, the Charlotte Hornets completed a quasi-lore on the Orlando Magic with a breakthrough layup by Hayward at the last minute, ending the 4-game losing streak in one fell swoop. In this game, Hayward made 15 of 25 shots, 5 of 8 three-pointers, a new high of 39 points next season, plus 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block. This is the absolute contributor to the Hornets' victory.
After joining the Hornets, the 30-year-old Hayward seems to be dreaming back to the top. So far this season, Hayward has averaged 24.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game, shooting 51.2% from the field and hitting three-pointers. The rate was 42.5%, and all the data hit the highest point in the past five seasons. With outstanding performance, it responded to the doubts of the media and fans. If Hayward can continue this performance, then he is expected to be selected for the second All-Star lineup of his career.
In fact, many people believe that the main reason why the Hornets can complete the transformation this season is that the team has Hayward, an excellent All-Star player. But in fact it is not the case. The transformation of the Hornets is not due to Hayward alone.
Team basketball blossoms in the Hornets
In fact, the reason why the Hornets can achieve this season Such remarkable results are mainly due to the team basketball system built by head coach James Borrego.After the 2018 regular season, the Hornets quickly fired head coach Steve Clifford and instead hired former Spurs assistant James Borrego as the team's new coach. Perhaps thanks to the experience of working under Spurs coach Popodovich, James Borrego also brought the Spurs team basketball concept to the Hornets.
However, due to the frequent turbulence of the Hornets lineup in the past two seasons, James Borrego's coaching ability has not been really played. Until this season, the team lineup is settled, and a new system with Hayward as the core and Rozier, Ramello Bauer and others is gradually taking shape. Under James Borrego's coaching philosophy, team basketball finally blossomed in the Hornets.
So far this season, the Hornets have averaged 28.3 assists per game, the number one in the league. The number of assists per game of the team fully reflects the level of selflessness of the players on the court, perhaps this is the main reason why Jordan picked three goals in the draft. With three goals so far this season, he has averaged 6 assists per game. Graham averaged 6.4 assists and Hayward averaged 3.5 assists per game. Even Rozier, who has been criticized for playing alone, has averaged 3 assists this season. Incoming.
Under this selfless team concept, the Hornets have blossomed more this season, with many players averaging double figures per game. In addition to Hayward's 24.1 points per game, Rozier averaged 18.5 points per game, Graham averaged 13.4 points per game, Washington averaged 12.9 points per game and three goals per game 11.4 points per game. With the team's strength really limited, James Borrego has maximized the Hornets' firepower.
Conclusion
Although the season is still very long, can the Charlotte Hornets return to the season? The playoffs are also an unknown, after all, the current strength of the team is indeed limited, the team only has an All-Star player Hayward. But with an excellent team basketball system, the Hornets' current record is still much better than the Wizards who have two All-Star backcourts with Bill and Westbrook. From this point of view, the Hornets have achieved remarkable results so far this season.
As mentioned above,Rome is not built in a day, the Hornets may not be able to return to the playoffs immediately, but at least the team is on the right track now!
.-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-