The tandem of Devonte Graham and Terry Rozier was probably the highlight of the season for the Charlotte Hornets, but can starting two similarly sized guards work in the long run?
When the Charlotte Hornets lost Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb after last season, fans were left wondering where the team’s next backcourt duo would come from. In came a new face in Terry Rozier, and he was the defacto next-man-up, but many questions surrounded who else would step up.
Devonte’ Graham more than filled that role in his second year and alongside Rozier, the two became a potent combination. They would finish this season as the team’s top two scorers and facilitators, combining for 36.2 points and 11.6 assists per game.
It would seem the team has its new pair of guards set to lead them into the next era of Charlotte Hornets basketball. Do they really, though? Both are very talented players and are the two most qualified to lead the team, but are they too similar?
More from Hornets News
- Hornets: Where does Brandon Miller’s ceiling rank among other rookies?
- Charlotte Hornets grade out mostly average in position-by-position ranking
- Hornets News: P.J. Washington makes bold statement on Brandon Miller
- Grade the mock trade: Hornets snag Tyler Herro, flip Gordon Hayward
- 3 Areas that the Charlotte Hornets should see improvement in for 2023-24
By similar, I mean height, build, and skillset. Having a capable point guard is the lynchpin of a successful NBA team, especially in modern basketball, but Devonte’ and Terry may just be too much alike to coexist in the future.
Sure, they worked out well together this past season, but one has to wonder how two 6’1″, 190-pound guards playing at the same time will continue to work. Yes, Terry is more of a scoring guard while Devonte is more of a classic mix of scoring and facilitating the basketball, but their production, outside of a few areas, is nearly identical across the board.
For instance, just comparing when they drive to the basket, their stats are very similar. Both players attempt around 10 drives to the hoop per game, but Rozier makes just a tad bit more than Graham, finishing 41% of the time, with Devonte making 35% of his shots at the rim.
Both also pass out of those situations at nearly the same clip, with the two guards dishing the ball from under the rim around 40% of the time. Devonte’, however, converts those passes at a higher rate than Terry, which makes sense given their roles.
Even just looking at their more common stats, I already mentioned their scoring and everything else is fairly close as well. Terry, essentially playing the role of the shooting guard, snags slightly more rebounds a game and has a slightly higher shooting percentage. Devonte, playing the typical point guard, again, has more assists, but three extra per game over Terry isn’t that much of a difference.
So, both play essentially play point scorers and most of the offense typically flows through them, either from spot-up threes or more commonly, driving to the basket. Touching on another similarity, both are mere percentage points away from each other in mid-range shooting, as well, with both making 37% from 15-19 feet away from the basket.
I could go on and on, but the two are nearly the same player and while they’re both very good, opposing teams will find a way to stop them and a few already have. The NBA is mostly positionless nowadays and nearly every team plays a decent amount of small ball, but this pair is about as small as you can get, especially since the team is undersized in general.
There have been rumors of other teams interested in Terry Rozier, and Graham would be the piece the team would keep given his contract and relative youth, so perhaps the team might listen this coming offseason if the right deal comes along.
Honestly, I think the coaching staff could work around this, especially as expectations remain low for the team, but ideally, you’d want to have a true shooting guard with the height and build to go up against similar matchups.
Maybe the team could put Rozier in a sixth-man role and if Malik Monk remains with the team, he’d be the starting two-guard. In any case, James Borrego may decide to tinker with the lineups when the team can practice together again. It works, sure, but you have to wonder if the duo has hit their ceiling.
Personally, I’d love to see the two blossom as one of the best backcourt duos and they possibly could, but I wonder if their skillsets are too similar to coexist as starters. It’s an interesting conundrum and one a lot of teams wouldn’t mind having, but at some point, there may be some cajoling of the players, and this tandem might just be no more.