Charlotte Hornets: Devonte’ Graham has breakout game vs WAS
Charlotte Hornets rookie guard Devonte’ Graham had the best game of his young career on Saturday night against the Washington Wizards.
It was a really tough loss for the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night, losing to the Washington Wizards, who were without their star point guard John Wall. However, one positive you can take away from the loss is the play of Devonte’ Graham.
The rookie from Kansas got some rotation minutes last night with Tony Parker resting on the second end of a back-to-back. Graham ended up with a career-high 11 points on 4-6 shooting in 21 minutes of action. He added five assists and four rebounds in the losing effort.
Graham even got some fourth quarter minutes, which shows how much James Borrego trusts his young guard. It was an impressive outing for Graham and it’s something that he can build off of.
.@hornets rookie guard @Devonte4Graham now up to 11 points on the night (4-6 FG). Marks his first double-digit scoring performance of the year #Hornets30
— Charlotte Hornets PR (@HornetsPR) December 30, 2018
He’s spent a lot of time with the Charlotte Hornets this year, but has also spent a lot of time with the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G-League affiliate. The G-League action is good for him. It does a good job keeping him engaged for a night where the Hornets need him, like they did on Saturday.
In his latest G-League assignment, the rookie Graham went off for 30 points against the Maine Red Claws. He’s been carving up the G-League all season long, averaging 25.3 points and 6.3 assists in the minor league.
Many people believe that Graham may be the future at the point guard position for the Hornets. When given the opportunity this season, he has looked pretty good. After his tenure at Kansas, he’s proven to be ready for the NBA, and if he continues to play like he did tonight, he’ll have a bright future in this league.
Tony Parker simply got the night off for the Hornets. The 36 year old future Hall of Famer deserves his rest, so it’s likely that Graham will go back to his usual role as the teams third-string point guard. It was good to see him on the court for an extended period, though. He played a good game and opened some eyes with his performance.
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Graham and the Charlotte Hornets will be back in action on Monday against the Orlando Magic. With the loss to Washington, the team is now below the .500 mark once again (17-18). The Hornets will have to come out of the gates with energy and attitude if they want to redeem themselves after Saturday’s tough loss.