The Charlotte Hornets have a bright future, thanks to their rookies outperforming expectations. Interestingly, Moussa Diabate has not been talked about as heavily as his fellow Hornets youngsters, particularly Kon Knueppel and Ryan Kalkbrenner. However, it's time to have that discussion.
Diabate is unlikely to be able to carry a franchise like Knueppel, nor does he have the potential to be an elite anchor in the paint like Kalkbrenner. Still, he can be a star in his role, and that's being a monster on the boards and a high-motor defensive big.
Looking at the stats alone, Diabate might not come off as better than a role player, averaging 10.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game. The per-36 numbers paint a different picture, though, as he is putting up 15.5 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per 36 minutes.
Does that mean he should get more playing time, and that Hornets coach Charles Lee has been misutilizing him for a second straight season?
Playing limited minutes
It would be difficult to increase Diabate's minutes when he and Kalkbrenner are in a timeshare at the five. Although the rookie has already locked down the starting spot, Lee has gone with a by-committee approach during the rest of the matches. He has played Kalkbrenner more often when the opposing team has a more traditional center and has relied on Diabate when the Hornets need a more mobile big man. The result has been Kalk averaging only 2.3 minutes per game more than Moose.
The question now is whether such a scheme is beneficial for the players' development when both of them have made strong cases to be on the floor more often.
As it stands, Lee has no choice but to stagger their minutes because playing them together will not align with his 3-point-heavy strategy.
Pathway to more playing time
Perhaps Charlotte can unleash a twin-tower lineup if any of Kalkbrenner and Diabate can add outside shooting to their arsenal. That should also help solve the club's problematic depth at power forward.
However, the Frenchman has appeared to resist expanding his range. Meanwhile, the Creighton University product displayed some potential to become a stretch five during the latter years of his collegiate career, but he doesn't seem interested in exploring it now that he's in the NBA.
No one can force either center to start letting it fly from downtown immediately, especially if they are uncomfortable with the idea. However, until they learn how to coexist on the court without shrinking the space around their teammates, their minutes will be capped to the high 20s per contest. Of course, that could mean a limited ceiling for Diabate.