Charlotte Hornets: The Good and Bad from the Returning Core

PJ Washington

The Good

PJ was a breath of fresh air last season shortly after losing Kemba Walker in free agency. A late lottery pick who ended up on the all-rookie team, he quickly went from evidence that the Charlotte Hornets are cursed to draft terribly forever among fans on social media to an exciting young player right from the gate. If he could make that jump, naturally, people wondered just how high his ceiling actually is.

Even last year as a rookie, PJ was an underrated passing big from the post. The Hornets were consistently able to run a set play with PJ on the elbow hitting a shooter coming off of a screen to some success.

James Borrego’s challenge to Washington this offseason was to develop as an overall playmaker and take more of that responsibility.

PJ seems to have taken that mission to heart. Last season, it was a familiar sight to see Washington pull down a rebound, stop, and look to hand the ball off to Rozier or Graham to dribble up the court.

His first shot of this preseason was a coast-to-coast drive attempt after pulling down a rebound. It didn’t go in, but looked okay up until the point of release. You’d be hard-pressed to find an example of PJ trying it as a rookie.

The breadth and boldness of his offensive role, in general, was noticeably expanded. He had longer dribbling sequences, made passes from the top of the key, took one-on-one drive attempts beyond attacking closeouts, attempted pull-up jumpers off the bounce, and even handled the ball some in pick and roll.

If PJ is able to consistently dribble and play make in that way, it would unlock a major advantage in exploiting slower defenders from the power forward and center position who often match upon him. It’ll also be key in what appears to be an attempt at a more egalitarian offensive scheme from Borrego in 2020-21.

The Bad

Defenders will only respect those playmaking attempts if they’re a threat to provide good offense. So far, that’s not been the case at all.

Perhaps Washington missing on that surprising first drive attempt most embodies his preseason struggles. He’s still a young player. With his early success, it’s natural to test the limits of what he’s capable of offensively and defensively, and that’s exactly what the Hornets intend to do—but, if he was the spark that set the pace for Charlotte’s overachievement last season, he’s currently the reason for the most concern.

Last year, PJ shot 45.5% from the field and 37.4% from 3—more than acceptable numbers for a rookie stretch big. Through 4 preseason games, he shot 29.5% from the field and an ugly14.3% from 3.

Again, the sample is small, and he was taking a lot of shots he isn’t normally comfortable with that probably won’t be encouraged the same way in the regular season. What’s discouraging is that, even to the eye, the shots from 3 weren’t good misses. They were often flat, doinking off the rim without good spin or missing the basket entirely.

It’s not uncommon for players to struggle to find their form after putting on weight the way PJ did this offseason. However, it might not have been a good weight. As one of the best deep shooters and two-way players on the roster last year, the Hornets will need PJ to maintain or improve upon that ability in the coming season if they hope to compete for night-to-night. Coach Borrego hasn’t minced words in saying as much. But he wouldn’t come down so harshly on Washington if he didn’t think he was capable of being a star. Here’s hoping he returns to form once the cobwebs are cleared.