For his debut as head coach, Charles Lee will have to wait before being able to work with his starting five. We could even write “starting 5” since the former Celtics assistant will have to do without his pivot Mark Williams for the restart. According to ESPNthe young interior was injured Thursday in training, and he suffers from a tendon in his left foot.
The medical staff specifies that he will be re-evaluated in 15 days, and that means that Williams will miss training camp and then the start of preseason. A small setback for the Hornets who want to return to the playoffs after eight years of drought. Under the boards, Williams contributed 12.7 points and 9.7 rebounds last season. But the 15th choice of the 2022 Draft had only played 19 matches after a back injury. He has not seen the pitch since December 8, 2023.
To replace him, temporarily, the Hornets frankly don't have many solutions with Nick Richards and veteran Taj Gibson… On the other hand, they can still recruit a player, and why not an interior player given the fragility of Williams (62 matches played in two seasons).
HORNETS ROSTER 2024/25
Leaders : LaMelo Ball, Vasilije Micic, Tre Mann, Nick Smith Jr.
Backs/wingers : Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, Grant Williams, Tidjane Salaün, Josh Green, Cody Martin, Seth Curry
Interiors : Nick Richards, Mark Williams, Taj Gibson
| Mark Williams | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2022-23 | CHA | 43 | 19 | 63.7 | 0.0 | 69.1 | 2.2 | 4.9 | 7.1 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 9.0 |
| 2023-24 | CHA | 19 | 27 | 64.9 | 0.0 | 71.9 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 9.7 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 12.7 |
| Total | 62 | 22 | 64.2 | 0.0 | 70.2 | 2.7 | 5.2 | 7.9 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 10.2 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
