Who Will be the Charlotte Hornets Sixth Man This Season?
After losing Jeremy Lin and Al Jefferson in free agency, the Charlotte Hornets must decide who their new sixth man will be for the 2016-17 season.
The Charlotte Hornets had one of the best scoring benches in the NBA last season. The team replaced many of their key pieces from the second unit from last year. With the loss of Jeremy Lin and Al Jefferson, the new acquisitions must make up for their lost contributions.
Marco Belinelli, Ramon Sessions, and Roy Hibbert were the new players brought in this summer to help shoulder the load. Jeremy Lamb and Frank Kaminsky are two returning players who will need to have a bigger role with the bench unit this season. Which of these players is ready to step into the sixth man role?
Jeremy Lin manned the sixth man role for much of last season. He provided the necessary spark off of the bench. Lin contributed with his scoring, defense, and playmaking with the second unit. He also saw time alongside Kemba Walker with the first unit late in games. Lin was a key to the team’s success last season as he gained Coach Clifford’s trust with his play.
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Now with Jeremy Lin gone, the Hornets are hoping that Sessions will be able to replace some of his production. While Ramon is a good player, he will not solely be able to replace Lin. Roy Hibbert can not be the sixth man because of his lack of scoring ability. So while he may be a great interior defender off of the bench, he will not be their sixth man.
The most logical choices for the sixth man would be between Marco Belinelli and Jeremy Lamb. Frank Kaminsky is still too young to take the sixth man role. While he may have a jump in output, he still needs time to grow. The quintessential sixth man would be a ball-handling guard who can not only score 10+ off of the bench every night but also create for others.
Lamb looked as if he would be the sixth man last season so he may be a natural fit this year but Steve Clifford may have lost faith in him. Jeremy averaged 8.8 points per game off of the bench last season in 18.6 minutes per game. He was a solid role player for most of the year but Lamb lost minutes to Troy Daniels late in the season.
Belinelli will get a shot at the sixth man role but this will also be his first season with the Hornets. He has no experience with the current team and that could hinder his chances of locking up the sixth man spot. Marco averaged 10.2 points per game in 24.6 minutes per game for the Sacramento Kings last year.
Charlotte may not have a sole sixth man this season who could dominate like they did last year. I think it will be a team effort off of the bench with different guys having big nights every game. I may be wrong but that is what it looks like heading into the 2016 campaign.
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It will be interesting to see who head coach, Steve Clifford, chooses to be the sixth man for the Charlotte Hornets next season. Lamb will likely get the role to start the year but Belinelli could easily take over that spot as the season goes on. If Jeremy can get things in order with coach Clifford and with his own game, he could have a breakout season as the sixth man for the team.