Charlotte Hornets: 3 Surprises from the first 2 months of the season

The Charlotte Hornets have played their best basketball when Ball, Graham, and Rozier are on the court together.

At the beginning of the season, there was an intriguing thought about who things would play out if the Charlotte Hornets put LaMelo Ball, Devonte’ Graham, and Terry Rozier on the court together with Ball’s height and ability to defend the three position. We haven’t seen much of that lineup in an extended manner until recently when the roster has been hit with injuries and lineup changes due to health and safety protocols related to Coivd-19.

The results of playing Ball, Graham, and Rozier playing on the court together have been great. The trio has a net rating of 21.7 in 93 minutes on the court together so far this season.

On defense, Ball, Graham, and Rozier’s rating is 100.0, seventh-best among other Hornets’ three-man lineups that have played 90 or more minutes together this season. Together, Ball and Rozier have one of the worst defensive ratings among duos on the team. If you add Graham to the mix, who is second on the team in defensive rating, that makes the more formidable on that end of the court.

The Hornets are not a good rebounding team but Graham and Rozier are good rebounders from the point guard position with their size. Ball’s rebound percentage is 10.4%; when this trio plays together, it improves to 14.9%.

The Hornets’ offense benefits when Ball, Graham, and Rozier are on the court together. The Hornets like to play at a fast pace; they currently rank 14th in the league in that category with a rating of 100.1. The lineup of Ball, Graham, and Rozier plays at a 102.4 rating which would rank fourth in the league.

The Hornets’ true shooting percentage jumps from 56.6% to 65.7% with Ball, Graham, and Rozier on the court. When this trio is on the court, the team shoots 45.9% from three, over seven percent higher than their season average.

Add in Gordon Hayward and Cody Zeller, this five-man lineup has an offensive rating of 141.9, a defensive rating of 102.3, and a net rating of 39.5 which out rates any other lineup group that has played 20 minutes or more for the Hornets this season.

Even when the Hornets have all their players back available to play, head coach James Borrego should consider keeping this lineup part of the Hornets’ rotation.