Charlotte Hornets: It’s Time for Steve Clifford to Give Youth a Chance
With the Charlotte Hornets’ playoff hopes dwindling, Steve Clifford should look to young players on the roster and give them a shot to prove themselves.
It’s clear that the current formula isn’t working for the Charlotte Hornets. They are on the outside looking in of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference and as the losses pile up, the postseason dream becomes less likely. It’s time to not only look for a new spark but also look to see what talent is hidden on the bench.
We’ve seen what Kemba Walker and the rest of the regular rotation players can do this season but we haven’t been able to get an extended look at the young prospects like Christian Wood, Treveon Graham and now Briante Weber as of late. If the Hornets plan on keeping any of them long term, it would be in their best interest to see exactly what they are capable of. One of the players could even provide a second half spark to the team that could lead to a playoff push.
Head coach, Steve Clifford, has obviously been hesitant to rely on young players this season and in the past. Rather than benching struggling players, he continues to ride the likes of Ramon Sessions, Brian Roberts and Roy Hibbert (before he was traded) instead of trying something new out like inserting Wood or someone into the rotation.
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While Charlotte isn’t loaded with young talent, they do have a few players with upside. It’s easy to see why Coach Clifford wants to rely on veterans because the team still have hopes of making a playoff push and the best way to do that is to use players he can trust. Instead, the exact opposite has happened. The squad has become stagnant and outside of Kemba and Frank Kaminsky, most everyone has struggled.
Christian Wood
The 21-year old is the obvious prospect who should receive more minutes. He has been with the team all season but has only appeared in six games. Most of his appearances have been in a limited fashion but with the recent injuries to frontcourt players, Wood has begun to get more playing time. Also, Kaminsky’s injury couple with Miles Plumlee‘s, Christian may slide into the backup center role.
Although he is only averaging 2.2 points per game and 2.7 rebounds per game this season, the 6’11 big man has shown flashes of brilliance and promise when given the chance. He is easily the most athletic big man on the roster and Charlotte could use a boost of athleticism in their rotation. The Hornets signed Wood to a two-year, $1.8 million deal this summer and if they plan on exercising his team option for next year, they better get a good look at the former UNLV player.
Briante Weber
Even though Weber is only on his first 10-day contract with the team, he is one of the most promising prospects in the NBA D-League. The 24-year old is only averaging 1.8 PPG, 0.6 APG and 0.5 RPG in eight total games this season but looking at his number with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, it’s easy to see why multiple teams wanted to sign him. Briante averaged 16.5 PPG, 7.3 APG and 7.5 RPG in the D-League earlier this season.
The promising player has a lot of upside but he hasn’t yet been able to show what he’s capable of because of limited opportunities. Looking at the bigger picture, everyone can see that neither Ramon Sessions or Brian Roberts have done enough to solidify the backup point guard role. After Ray McCallum wasn’t given one appearance during his two 10-day deals with the Hornets, it would be a shame if the same happened to Weber.
Charlotte needs to give him minutes so that they can determine if they want to sign him to a second 10-day contract and for the rest of the season after that. Who knows, Briante might break out and become the team’s backup point guard for next season. He’s at least worth a look with the poor play of Sessions and Roberts.
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Treveon Graham is another young player who deserves more playing time off of the bench but with the depth the Hornets have on the wing, that may be difficult. Charlotte has done a good job of developing young players like Kemba Walker, Cody Zeller, and even Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to an extent. Now it is time to give Wood and Weber a shot to at least see what they bring to the table and maybe even help spark a postseason push.