Charlotte Hornets: Devonte’ Graham’s bench role suits him, for now
A starting job may be in the cards for Charlotte Hornets guard Devonte’ Graham in the future, but for now, his sixth man role fits him just fine.
After starting the 2019-20 season so strong, Devonte’ Graham is being pegged by many Charlotte Hornets fans as a starter in the making. Some think he should be starting right now, but keeping him in his bench role may be ideal, for now, anyway.
I mean, he is practically playing starter minutes right now, but his role as an energizer and instant scorer has been very valuable to the second unit as a point guard. When he’s getting run with the starters, you typically see him at the shooting guard spot in two-guard lineups.
If he were to move up to the starting lineup, who does Graham replace? Dwayne Bacon is the most likely answer, but that would give the team much less size in the back court.
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Graham is shooting the heck out of the ball, hitting 42 percent of his three-pointers, while Bacon is struggling with his shot, hitting just 24 percent of his. You lose size, but you gain an extra shooter and playmaker.
Do you start him over Rozier? The man who was signed to a $58 million contract to replace Kemba Walker? That would be a bad look, especially with how early we are into the season.
I just can’t see them benching Rozier at any point during this season. Maybe they can eventually figure out how to play and start alongside each other long term, but at this point, keeping Rozier in the lineup with Graham on the bench makes the most sense.
Graham has arguably been Charlotte’s best player during the first eight games of the season, averaging 17.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists. Rozier is still getting into the swing of things with the Hornets, averaging 15.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.1 assists.
At the end of the day, this is a good problem to have. Graham is pushing hard for a promotion and even more playing time, but I don’t think it’s something that is an immediate concern. There’s still plenty of games left, plenty of ups-and-downs on the way and plenty of strategies to play tweaked with.
In the meantime, while still coming off the bench, Graham should be considered an early favorite for the Sixth Man of the Year Award at the conclusion of the 2019-20 season. As long as he doesn’t start in a bunch of games, that should be the case throughout the entire season.
Next. I'll admit, I was wrong about Devonte' Graham. dark
Devonte’ Graham has shown signs of lightning quick development thus far, and could be a very important piece to this Charlotte Hornets rebuild moving forward, whether he is starting or coming off the bench.