Charlotte Hornets: 3 ways the preseason shook up the rotations

The Hornets acquired Mason Plumlee to solve part of the center position issues that persecute the team from the past but help is needed from the substitutes players.

The preseason made it clear that Mason Plumlee is the starting center of the team. Even if the former Pistons player missed two of the four games there is a clear cut between him and the rest of the center rotation. When out for health and safety protocols, Borrego decided to play Washington as small-ball five in the starting lineup.

However, the staff surprised most of the fans with the consistent use of another young center coming from the bench, Nick Richards. Last year’s second-rounder was the first big not named Plumlee or Washington to get minutes at the five positions. The result was not that great but, as of today, his use could help the Hornets in the short term.

Richards is the one chosen ahead of other young bigs like Kai Jones and Vernon Carey Jr. because of various reasons. First of all the 7 footer plays with good physicality and the Hornets were not known for that in the past season. Size is a huge problem for many teams in the league and is pretty clear that teams that succeed are the one that can make feel their presence to the opponents. He is also a presence in rebounding and near the rim to contest shots, two other key areas for Charlotte.

This decision is much more related to the short term rather than how the staff evaluate bigs for the future. Jones and Carey are much more raw players and have the upside to become more well-rounded players than Richards will ever be. The staff wants a short-term production and Richards is the one in a better position to give them what they need right now.

The most important element of this decision is that they can now focus on one player to develop in a more decisive way than how it was handled in the past.

Another element to keep an eye on is that, now that the team could “rely” on a traditional center, the staff can resume the development program as a power forward for Washington. Ideally, you do not want to spend a high first-rounder on a player like him to later develop him as situational and bench small-ball five. Washington was used a lot more as a power forward in these preseason games, thanks to the presence of another traditional big and this is likely to happen with the start of the season too.