The Magic of the Charlotte Hornets’ bench

In the past, the benches of the Charlotte basketball franchises has been filled with, how do I say this without offending these players, guys who shouldn’t really be in the NBA. I’m sure that all of these guys are great people, and they all provided moments of happiness to the Charlotte NBA fanbase. But to say these players were good at their job would be an understatement.

These Bobcats benches were filled with players that include: Derrick Brown, Kwame Brown, Gana Diop, Joel Pryzbilla and Eduardo Najera. All of these guys were expected, and relied upon by the team to produce at a level that they were not capable of. But all of these guys couldn’t fill their roles placed on them by the coaching staff.

This Charlotte Hornets’ bench is different. Gone are the names of NBA journeymen who are on their last legs and ending their NBA career with a paycheck from a Charlotte team. Now, the bench is filled with players who are in the primes of their careers, and is filled with veteran players who are proven producers. Jeremy Lamb, Jeremy Lin, Spencer Hawes and Cody Zeller are the four most important bench players on this team, and some could argue that they are the most valuable foursome on the team as a whole. All four of these players are adjusting to new roles, with three being new to Charlotte and Zeller moving to the bench after starting most of his first two seasons with the team.

I like to call this hodgepodge group of players the “BA Team”. First of all, because they are badasses. Zeller is tough as a bag of beef jerky placed in front of the sun for a year. To channel Chumbawamba, he gets abused the whole entire game, but he always seems to get back up. Big Z is also a badass because of his scar on his forehead. He looks like he got in a fight with a lion and took a scratch to the head, but as with Zeller, he keeps on going.

J-Lin, to put it simply, is as cool as the other side of the pillow. With his fantastic hairstyle that channels Dragon Ball-Z, to his calm runners in the lane, he has been a pleasant surprise for this Hornets team. To be honest, I thought that he was done in the NBA as a really productive player. I thought that he would just become a journeyman who would travel the league and average 9-10 points a game. I was gladly mistaken, and I’m extremely happy for J-Lin that he could find a home in Charlotte with the Hornets. He, along with the other members of the BA team are keeping this team hovering around the .500 mark. Lin also adds a different flavor to this team. Unlike any Horncat of the past, he is an international superstar, with his name known throughout America and most of Asia. Never before have I seen a player of the popularity of Lin grace a Hornets or Bobcats uniform, at least in the current incarnation.

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The other Jeremy, Jeremy Lamb is quickly becoming a legend among Hornets fans. Lanky, tall and skillful, Jeremy Lamb possesses all of the traits of a fantastic two-guard. And so far this season, Lamb has been a revelation. In OKC, Lamb was overshadowed by the superstars such as Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Lamb came off of the bench to produce at a level that wasn’t up to his talent. In his best season, he averaged a little over 8 points a night. His production early in his career wasn’t what was expected from a 12th overall pick. Rich Cho saw that Lamb wasn’t being used in OKC at the level in which he thought possible. The Hornets brass decided that Luke Ridnour could be traded to OKC for Lamb. Ridnour, the communal punching bag of the NBA, was shipped out of Charlotte in exchange for a player who never really got any opportunities in Oklahoma City; a player who is in the prime of his career. Lamb is straight killing it with the Hornets as a moment. He is draining shots left and right and he is posterizing players on a nightly basis. J-Lamb is also currently averaging 13.1 points per game, a clip in which he can improve on greatly this season.

The final new member of the BA squad is Spencer Hawes. Although I have been critical of Hawes in the past (especially with his hairstyle), I see him as a pretty important player for this team. Fans like to moan and complain about their teams players, and Hawes is one of the most whined about players on this team. Some think he’s slow, doesn’t play good defense, and is pretty much just a big body. Well, I agree somewhat. He is not going to blow by you with his speed, he’s not a defensive guru, and he is a big fella. Hawes is a good placeholder for Frank Kaminsky. Frank the Tank might not yet be ready for the NBA level of athleticism and speed. Hawes has been dealing with NBA players for the past 10 years, and is used to what they bring to the table. Until Frank gets his feet wet in the Association, Hawes is going to be the big man who comes off of the bench.

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Personally, I love bench celebrations. I love when the guys on the bench go crazy for a play that a guy on the court made. At the beginning of the year, I thought I’d be seeing Lamb, Lin and Hawes celebrating the plays made by the starters. Now, it’s beginning to look like the players who will be celebrating is Kemba and Big Al. This BA Team is providing the Hornets with life to start off the season, and it’ll be interesting to see how this BA Team progresses as the season goes on.