Charlotte Hornets Round Table Discussion: Schedule Edition
With the NBA schedule being released and everyone preparing for the upcoming season, we answer a few questions regarding the Charlotte Hornets’ schedule.
The league has recently released the regular season schedule and there are some interesting games for the Charlotte Hornets this year. We here at Swarm and Sting answer a few questions surrounding the schedule including the preseason and opening night. The NBA season is getting closer and we are right around the corner from the game that we all know and love.
The Charlotte Hornets have yet to begin training camp as the summer continues to drag on but that doesn’t mean we can’t look ahead to future dates. Without further ado, here are some of our opinions on the schedule and even Nicolas Batum‘s play during the 2016 Rio Olympics.
1. Starting with the preseason, would you like the see key players get some game time or would you want to see Coach Clifford rest everyone so that they can stay healthy for the regular season?
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Jerry Stephens (@JR_Steph23): Coach Clifford would love to rest all of his star players before the regular season but he must also get his first team to play together before the year starts. With MKG coming back and all of the new players being added this summer, Steve Clifford will need to get them game time together during the preseason. The team must find a rhythm together so that they can flow once the regular season begins. Hopefully a freak injury like what happened to Kidd-Gilchrist doesn’t happen again this year.
Luke Spencer (@SvenGalitiger): Well, right off the bat I think that MKG should only play about 15-20 minutes a game in the preseason considering last year he injured himself all by his lonesome in a game against the Magic (in the very first preseason game might I add). I remember watching that moment last year and immediately thinking the Hornets season was already over (thank goodness I was wrong). I would say that guy’s like Jeremy Lamb and Christian Wood will get plenty of playing time in the preseason to try to prove their worth. We may not see much of Nic Batum on the court considering his busy offseason.
Laieke Abebe (@StrikaNation24_): With a lot of new faces on the team, it would be nice to see them get a few games in together to form some good chemistry. In my personal opinion, the Hornets should rest starters close to the end of the preseason so that others can get a chance to earn roster spots. Coach Clifford would love to have the team clicking early in the season.
Gamaliel Panuyas (@GPanuyas): Coach Clifford should rest key players. However, since guys like Hibbert, Belinelli and Kidd-Gilchrist will be suiting up (or suit up again, in the case of MKG) for the Hornets, they have to get acquainted with the others. Hibbert will likely play his own defensive style when he was with Indiana or Los Angeles, but he needs to develop chemistry with the team and playing in the preseason would help.
Same goes for MKG who has been out for a long while. He needs to get his rhythm on the court. Those are some players who need to show up in the preseason. Belinelli should learn playing with them as well. As for other key players like Kemba and Batum, Steve Clifford will need to preserve them for the regular season.
Max Seng (@MaxaSeng): Charlotte isn’t a team that has undergone a complete makeover, but does have several new cogs to the rotation expected to contribute. Coach Clifford will air on the side of caution, particularly after losing MKG last preseason. With that being said, the Hornets are a team that relies on depth, ball movement and spot-on defensive rotations. That takes time to build with the new guys and to rebuild with the returners. It’d be safe to expect no more than 25-30 minutes in any preseason game for starters. Let back-end rotation guys and fringe D-Leaguers get their chance to impress.
Next: Opening Night