What the MKG Injury Means for the Hornets Rotation

The Charlotte Hornets have been hit with devastating injury news before the season could even begin. They will likely be without their starting small forward, Michael Kidd-Gilchirst, for the whole 2015-2016 regular season due to a shoulder injury which he sustained in the second quarter of the team’s first preseason game. Michael came off of a screen and fell hard to floor. He was immediately taken out of the game and back to the locker room.He was then transported to a local hospital for x-rays and further evaluation.

It is now confirmed that Kidd-Gilchirst suffered a dislocated shoulder and a torn labrum in his right shoulder. This is an injury that will require surgery and he will likely be forced to miss six months while recovering. There might be a chance that he comes back this season but it is highly unlikely. This is an injury that will take time to heal and the Hornets will not rush MKG back to court.

But what does this injury mean for the rest of the team? MKG was set to be a key component of their season this year. He is potentially a top-10 perimeter defender in this league and was hoping to make a huge jump this year. The season must go on and it will. So the Charlotte Hornets must be prepared for this season and replace MKG’s production in hopes of making the playoffs.

Starters:

The injury to Michael will put an even heavier burden on the starters on the defense side of the ball. MKG’s perimeter defense is some of the best in the league and without that everyone else will have to step up. The Hornets don’t have much interior defending so they were hoping on their perimeter defense to win them games this season.

Someone will have to fill in for MKG in the team’s starting line-up. It will likely be Charlotte Hornets newcomer, Jeremy Lamb. Lamb replaced MKG to start the second half of the game where he got injured with the starting unit. He slid into the shooting guard position and Nicolas Batum was moved to his familiar position at the small forward.

Lamb also started in the team’s second preseason game at shooting guard. The Hornets were hoping to use a big and quick line-up of Kemba Walker at the point guard, Nicolas Batum at shooting guard, MKG at small forward, and big Al Jefferson down low. But the injury will change the team’s plans.

This will put more pressure on Jeremy Lamb who has been hidden in OKC for the past three seasons. He will be asked to not simply come off of the bench and score like many expected. He will be asked to start as the team’s shooting guard and to be able to shoot, score, and defend. This is a huge task for Lamb but if he can play to a new level this year, he could be in for huge payday this off-season where he will be a free agent.

Lamb has had the potential to be a good player in this league. He is a former lottery pick only three season ago. He has always had the ability to shoot the ball but he this season must improve his defensive game. He has the length and ability to do so but he must make it happen.

Bench:

With Lamb no longer being on the Charlotte Hornet bench, this will create more space and minutes for the other bench guards. It was unlikely that Lamb, Jeremy Lin, Brian Roberts, Troy Daniels, and P.J. Hairston would all get an abundance of playing time each game for the Hornets but with the MKG injury it opens up more possibilities for them to play.

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Jeremy Lin was already seen as the team’s sixth man heading into this season and he will likely remain in that role but with even more minutes. Head coach, Steve Clifford, has said before that he wants to play Lin and Kemba together on the floor. We might see more of this than was expected. Lin’s minutes will likely go up as he may get more playing time as the back-up point guard and shooting guard for the Hornets.

P.J. Hairston may get more minutes because he is the biggest player out of the bench wings and the only one that could likely fill in as a back-up small forward. He has struggled over the course of the summer but he will get his chance to prove that he can play in this league and is worthy of his first round selection.

Brian Roberts minutes may go up due to the fact that Lin is going to be used more at the shooting guard position. It could open up time for Roberts as the team’s third point guard.

Troy Daniels didn’t get much burn last season off of the bench for the Hornets but if Jeremy Lamb struggles expect to see Daniels off of the bench. He is one of the only natural shooting guards off of the Hornet’s bench and he can shoot the ball very well from three.

The rotation is really unclear for the team right now and no one is really sure how many minutes each player will get once the season comes around. And of course the rotation will change throughout the season depending on injuries, slumps, who has the hot hand, and matchups. This is all merrily speculation but every player for the Charlotte Hornets will definitely have to step up this year and some new players will be leaned on much more heavily than originally thought. This will be a test for the Charlotte Hornets organization, the staff, the starters, and the bench. It will be interesting to see if all of the acquisitions made this off-season can help the Hornets maintain their goal of making the playoffs this season. The team will have to rally around each other and play even better every night with the loss of such a valuable player like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

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