The headline of the night for the Charlotte Hornets was on their franchise record-setting three-pointers made in a game, but there was an obvious method to that madness.
The Charlotte Hornets 2019-2020 season opener came with thrill and excitement. It felt like forever since Hornets basketball had been played!
To the surprise of most fans, it came with a win. The Charlotte Hornets are undefeated and stand at the top of the Eastern Conference… for now.
The most impressive thing about the night was not the fact that Charlotte won. It was the rookie debut of PJ Washington.
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PJ set an NBA record for threes made in a rookie debut with seven! Those threes added to his total of 27 points to lead the team in scoring and in threes made!
That’s ridiculous and shouldn’t be overlooked when thinking about his future.
That kind of box score should sound familiar, however. If it reminds you of a certain ex-Hornet who would consistently lead the team in threes made and about 27 points by the night’s end, then you would expect that PJ was carrying the team.
That was not the case.
The offense was not run through PJ as it was nightly through Kemba. In fact, the offense was not run through any one person in particular. Five different Hornets scored 15+ points and three of them scored 22+ points!
The ball was not in one person’s hands and asked of them to be the primary scorer. This was a true team effort by every Hornet that stepped foot on that court!
This is not an anti-Kemba article. I loved Kemba and still do, but there was a limitation to a system that consisted of a Kemba Walker high screen and roll for 80% of the offense.
The new ball movement system translated to 28 assists on 45 shots made. It felt as if everyone was touching the ball and it was an equal opportunity offense that a lot of players capitalized on.
The offense was not perfect, however, seeing as 19 turnovers accompanied the 28 assists. That is not good. Chicago took full advantage of those turnovers and was able to score 29 points off of Hornets turnovers alone. That is the guide on how to lose basketball games.
If the Charlotte Hornets can clean up their sloppy turnovers, then this team has a chance to be dynamic on the offensive end moving forward.