3 reasons for the culture shift going on in Charlotte post trade deadline
By Ben Handler
The whole is better than the sum of its parts
The point is, that all five of these guys are willing passers, capable shooters, and players who want to win and play unselfish, team-first ball. They also all carry a chip on their shoulders as all five were “dumped” to Charlotte while their teams were trying to upgrade. They’ve been mostly talked about as salary filler, sent back to the Hornets in trades for Gordon Hayward and P.J. Washington who were the faces of those deals.
These are proud NBA players and veterans who now must feel like they have something to prove, and so far they are playing like it. It’s not realistic to think that the Hornets have suddenly turned a corner and will make a late-season push to the play-in tournament. But it is realistic to want to see this team build good habits and show progress toward being a competitive team, much like the past two games.
"We're trying to build habits, build culture, build a team that really impacts winning."@Grant2Will joins the crew to not only discuss the win but discuss how this team is gelling together. pic.twitter.com/Nwu0VJtO5D
— Bally Sports: Hornets (@HornetsOnBally) February 13, 2024
The blend of these guys with the four holdovers has been great to watch. Everyone seems to have a very well-defined role and those roles are being embraced. Brandon and Miles are clearly the focal points on offense, and everyone else is accentuating their skills and abilities. Richards has bought in as a rebounding machine and rim protector.
Every other player can space the floor, and pass the ball, and there are no major liabilities on defense. It’s no coincidence that the Hornets have won back-to-back games for the first time since November, that they allowed their fewest points in a win all season against the Pacers, and that they held the league’s top-scoring offense to their second-lowest output of the season. It’s a real basketball team; and the fact that they look that way after only two games is incredible
It would be great to go into a very important offseason with some solid momentum built up, and feeling like the team is on the right track. Having an identity and a positive culture are great places to start and those are things that can be built before the team is ready to actually win. Early returns are extremely promising, let’s see if the Hornets can keep it going.