Charlotte Hornets: 4 Takeaways From the First 10 Games

3. Bad Takeaway #2: Play in the Paint

Unfortunately we have to go back to the bad takeaways. It’s not because I want to, it’s because I have to. The bad takeaway #2 is the problem the Charlotte Hornets have with their play in the paint.

This problem can actually be deemed worse than the first problem. With the issue of not playing an entire 48 minutes of basketball, there is the potential of the other team taking off a quarter as well. This actually happens more often than we think. This is unfortunately not the case for poor play in the paint.

Cody Zeller has been out for the majority of these first 10 games, and we can argue that the Hornets play in the paint will improve once he is back, and it probably will, but this issue needs to still be addressed.

In all professional sports, there needs to be a “next man up” mentality. Bismack Biyombo is a solid second option behind Zeller, but with Zeller out, he needs to have a solid performance every single game.

This is also on coaching. Biyombo has obviously been struggling for the past couple of games, but Coach Borrego still has not done much about it. He has called Nick Richards name a few times, and PJ Washington had had a solid showing down low, but he needs to get some of these younger guys more playing time. They drafted Vernon Carey Jr. for a reason.

If James Borrego decides to continue in this way, the best thing fans should hope for is that the team continues to win despite the poor big man play. The Hornets can do this, they’ve actually proven that they can despite this, but this will not get them into the playoffs. If by some miracle they do find themselves in the playoffs, they won’t get too far without a solid big man.

Here’s to all of us hoping that Cody Zeller comes back soon!