Charlotte Hornets: Jeremy Lamb was team’s best rebounder last season
The Charlotte Hornets were not one of the best rebounding teams last season, and losing Jeremy Lamb does not help them as they head into next season.
The Charlotte Hornets are heading into next season without their best rebounder from last season. You would think that a team’s top rebounder would be a center, but for Charlotte, it was a shooting guard.
Charlotte got a lot of inconsistent minutes from their centers last season, and it led to them not having high rebound numbers. At the end of the season, Jeremy Lamb would have 434 total rebounds; he also led the team in defensive rebounds with 369.
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Lamb did not finish last season with the highest rebounds per game number because of the number of games he played in. Lamb finished last season by averaging 15.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
It’s quite unfortunate that the Hornets lost their best rebounder from last season to the Indiana Pacers during free agency. Lamb was consistent with his rebounding, and that should carry over to next season when he’s with the Pacers.
Since Lamb is gone, who is going to take over and grab the most rebounds? When trying to answer this question, only two players come to mind, Cody Zeller and Marvin Williams.
Zeller led the team in rebounds per game with 6.8, while Williams was in second place behind Lamb with 407 total rebounds. Inconsistent minutes is what led to these players being behind Lamb.
The Hornets were ranked 23rd in rebounds per game last season with 43.8, and this was a significant decline from the previous season. The Hornets finished the 2017-18 season within the top-three in rebounds per game.
This decline in rebounds only happened because Charlotte traded away Dwight Howard before last season. Since the departure of Howard, the Hornets have not been getting huge rebound games from their players.
Cody Zeller will likely be the starting center for the Hornets next season, and he will have the chance to improve his rebounding numbers. Due to chronic injuries, Zeller has missed a total of 82 games during the past two seasons.
The last time that Zeller played in more than seventy games was during the 2015-16 season. During that season, Zeller was able to rack up his career-high in rebounds with 455.
dark. Next. Who’s the best three-point shooter now?
The Hornets frontcourt should look to improve its rebounding numbers; it looks bad when the team’s leading rebounder plays in the backcourt. Charlotte needs more rebounding from its frontcourt; Coach James Borrego should emphasize this.