Charlotte Hornets: Takeaways From the Team's First Preseason Win

There were a lot of positives from the Charlotte Hornets’ first preseason victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves but there were also a few negatives.

After losing their first three preseason games, the Charlotte Hornets finally picked up their first win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The much needed win showed a lot of improvements for the Hornets as they returned to the Spectrum Center and North Carolina. While there were plenty of positives, there were a few negatives that stood out.

As a team, Charlotte looked drastically better in this one than they previously have in their exhibition games this year. They shot a preseason-high 43.5% from the field and a preseason-high 33.3% from the three-point line. They also had six players score in double-digits as they had a great team performance.

The Hornets have been struggling this preseason but with Marvin Williams and Nicolas Batum returning after resting in the last game, the team returned to form. Ramon Sessions and Marvin Williams each had their best games so far this preseason. Steve Clifford only played 11 guys and kept his rotation to only players who will be on the regular season roster.

Positives:

Frank Kaminsky Continues to Impress

This preseason is Frank Kaminsky’s party and we are all invited. He has been playing some of the best basketball of his career in the past few exhibition games. He continued that against the T-Wolves as he scored a team-high 17 points to go along with four rebounds and he also made four three-point shots.

Jeremy Lamb May Not Play Defense But He Can Score

Lamb has caught some flack from head coach, Steve Clifford, after getting beat and lost on defense far too often. While he may struggle not he defensive end of the court, he continues to be one of the team’s leading scorers each game. This one was no different as he scored 16 points on 7-10 shooting and grabbed three rebounds as well.

Kemba Walker Returning to Form

This was the first game that Walker was off of his minutes restriction that limited to only nine minutes in the past two games. Instead, he played in nearly 24 minutes and looked in regulars season form. He recorded 15 points, three rebounds, and two assists.

Nicolas Batum Finally Back?

After signing his big deal this summer, Nic Batum has struggled with France in the Olympics and with the Charlotte Hornets this preseason. He had his best game as he showcased his usual all-around performance against Minnesota. The France international scored 13 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out five assists.

Negatives:

Giving Youth a Chance?

The preseason is not only a chance for starters and role players to get fit for the regular season but also for young guys to prove their worth to the team. In this one, Steve Clifford did not play Aaron Harrison, Andrew Andrews, Christian Wood, Mike Tobey, Rasheed Sulaimon, or Treveon Graham. I understand that he wants to get his guys playing time but playing the young prospects would be good too.

Marco Belinelli‘s Doughnut

The newly acquired big man played for 29 minutes in the game but did not record a single point. He went 0-3 from the field with all three of those shots being from there three-point line. He is usually a great shooting so it is surprising that he played almost 30 minutes and did not score a point.

MKG Still Can’t Find His Shot

After an impressive seven games last season, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist seemingly found his shot and was knocking them down with consistency. That has not continued on during the preseason. In 20 minutes, MKG only shot (2-11) 18.2% from the field in the team’s win over Minnesota. Over the first four preseason games, he is only shooting 27.5% from the field and 0% from the three-point line.

Injuries

With each passing game, the injury to Cody Zeller gets more and more concerning. He is dealing with a bone bruise that has still not fully recovered since originally suffering the injury during the playoffs last season. Zeller is missing valuable time and may have even lost his starting center spot to Roy Hibbert. Undrafted rookie big man, Perry Ellis, has still not appeared in a preseason game with the team due to sports hernia surgery that he is still recovering from.

Next: Kemba Walker is the Hornets' Unquestioned Leader

The Charlotte Hornets will return to preseason action against the Chicago Bulls on October 17th. It will be an away match for Charlotte as they look to build from their recent win over the T-Wolves. After losing their first three exhibition games, the team can turn things around an have a strong finish to their preseason.

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Takeaways From the Charlotte Hornets First Preseason Win

By Jerry Stephens | Oct 11, 2016