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Charlotte Hornets: James Borrego reveals point guard rotation

By Jerry Stephens

CHARLOTTE, NC- MAY 11: James Borrego speaks to the media after being hired as Head Coach of the Charlotte Hornets during a press conference in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 11, 2018 at the Spectrum Center. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC- MAY 11: James Borrego speaks to the media after being hired as Head Coach of the Charlotte Hornets during a press conference in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 11, 2018 at the Spectrum Center. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Charlotte Hornets’ head coach revealed how many minutes Kemba Walker and Tony Parker will get in each game this season.

When Charlotte Hornets‘ head coach James Borrego sat down with the NBATV broadcast crew during his team’s summer league game against the Boston Celtics, he answered a few questions and made some interesting claims for the seasons ahead. The most significant was revealing the point guard rotation.

Borrego said that Kemba Walker would live between 33 and 34 minutes a night. He also added that Tony Parker would add the 14-16 minutes as the backup. Although TP was expected to take the backup point guard minutes, it’s interesting to see how much playing time both him and Kemba would receive.

Charlotte signed Parker to a two-year, $10 million contract this summer with the intentions of him proving a veteran presence off of the bench behind Kemba Walker. The Hornets’ head coach also expects Parker to play alongside Walker to close out some games. That would give the team another creator/playmaker on the floor when opposing teams force the ball out of Kemba’s hands.

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An interesting development has been Devonte’ Graham‘s play during the Las Vegas Summer League so far. He has played well and looks to be an absolute second-round steal for Charlotte. Could the rookie challenge Tony for minutes as the backup point guard this season?

It remains to be seen what the plans are for Graham further down the line but for now, he is expected to be the Hornets’ third-string/emergency point guard off of the bench. He should see limited playing time but could fill in when either Parker or Walker are forced to miss time. Although, there is a chance that he could take Tony’s minutes if the veteran struggles and Devonte’ continues to show promise.

Looking at past seasons, Kemba has played 33+ minutes per game in each of the last six years. In 2017-18, he averaged 34.2 MPG. As for Parker, he’s never averaged less than 19.5 MPG which was last season. At this stage of Tony’s career, limited playing time may be the best way to get the most out of him.

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While the point guard situation may be figured out, the rest of the team’s rotation is less certain. At this point, it’s unclear what the rest of the Charlotte Hornets’ starting five will look like and which other players will make up the second unit with Tony Parker.

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