Preseason bouts show Charlotte Hornets big man rotation

Coming into the season, the center rotation seemed to be wide open for any players to step up and earn some minutes but the preseason has shown us the rotation.

The Charlotte Hornets rotations at the center position have been pretty consistent so far within the NBA preseason. After two tough losses to the Tampa Bay Raptors, the organization’s rotation likely won’t change dramatically but regulating the minutes to the starting and roleplayers. We have already done our key takeaways from the first and second games against the Raptors and the rotation seems to be set despite the negatives.

It seems as if the current rotation is with Cody Zeller starting at the center position getting what I predict to be about 20 minutes a game. In both preseason matches Zeller got the most minutes at the center position and in their second loss to the Raptors, Zeller shot both perfect from the field and the charity stripe logging ten points. Not often do you see a player shoot perfect from the field and the line, but in a preseason game with limited minutes, let’s not blow it out of proportion.

This is Zeller’s eighth-season and last year he had career highs across all of his stats. I’m not sure if Zeller will start all season but as for right now, he is a viable option at the big man position.

Bismack Biyombo and Jalen McDaniels have gotten significant minutes in the preseason so far with McDaniels showing out with 15 points in the second preseason game. Biyombo has made bounds as an NBA player and an athlete and he has been efficient with the pick-and-rolls coming off of the bench. Biyombo seems to hang tough around the rim with LaMelo Ball dishing him the rock fairly often. McDaniels has been offensively talented in both preseason matchups against the Tampa Bay Raptors.

I wouldn’t put it past the franchise to test some small-ball lineups throughout the season stretching the floor with either PJ Washington or Miles Bridges at the five and starting the other at the four. This tends to stretch the floor since both are good shooters and together could be a hassle for opposing defenses. Washington is slightly taller and has a little more muscle than Bridges but the duo seems to be nearly interchangeable. Bridges brings more energy on both sides of the ball but Washington is deadlier from the perimeter. Regardless this small-ball lineup would only be efficient against other smaller lineups and shouldn’t be used against any “traditional” lineup.

Finally, you have Vernon Carey and Nick Richards. Both players are really talented and to be honest, I expected Carey to get a lot more time in this preseason. Carey was one of the best players in college hoops and was a Wooden Award candidate and he has been regarded as one of the biggest steals of this year’s draft. Carey brings great footwork and a traditional skillset to the center positional that most rotation players don’t have so it’ll be a good change of pace against defenses. Richards isn’t likely to get many minutes and has been taking advantage of the preseason. Despite the talent that both these players have, I expect both to be moved down to the G-League for the Greensboro Swarm.

Now things can change within the NBA very quickly with injuries coming left and right to anyone. Obviously, this is the preseason and these minutes shouldn’t be extrapolated across the entire season but these rotations are easy to pinpoint for the Hornets roster.