The Charlotte Hornets’ young core is still a mystery
By Scott Overby
PJ Washington
PJ Washington has been as good as anyone could have expected for this team so far. He’s shown the ability to make good basketball decisions and is starting to become more physical down on the low block.
As a rookie, PJ Washington is averaging 12.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting 48 percent overall and 41 percent from three-point land.
The real surprise has been his outside shooting, a trait he showed only briefly last season at Kentucky. There were some questions coming into the draft about his range, although he did shoot a pretty good percentage on his three-point attempts last year, the volume came into question and if he really had that shot in his arsenal.
Those seemed to have been answered, as PJ has stepped out and not only taken open threes but has made them at a surprising clip. He’s a bit more athletic than some draft gurus thought and this has helped him in his ability to switch onto smaller guards in the pick and roll.
He still needs to get a bit stronger, and that will prevent him from getting bullied on the boards, but overall he’s one of the prospects for the Charlotte Hornets to move forward with.