The Hornets have regained momentum this summer, after another tasteless 2022/23 season, and Steve Clifford is preparing to return to his group for training camp with a smile, and the ambition to bring Charlotte closer to a balanced balance sheet.
The mission does not look easy because his group is starting from afar (27 successes last season), but the reasons to believe in it are numerous, starting with the numerous returns recorded after an exercise marked by injuries, but also the sidelining of Miles Bridges. For the Hornets coach, Charlotte should show a different side at the start of the school year, starting with its offensive basketball, which should please the fans.
“The attack, obviously,” he replied when asked what he wanted to improve. “The most important thing, to be honest, is that LaMelo only played 36 games. Miles didn’t play, even though he was our leading scorer and rebounder the year before. Gordon played 50 matches. Cody Martin played seven games. When I took over, those were probably four of our top seven players. When you lose guys like that, it’s harder. What I’m proud of is that we hung in there and got better as the year went on. We played at our best level at the end of the season.”
Brandon Miller as bonus, LaMelo Ball as boss
Among the expected returns, there will be that of Gordon Hayward, who just spent his first summer in four years injury-free. Finally, the Draft of Brandon Miller will have to improve everything.
“He has that combination of size, skill and IQ that is hard to find, even in our league. He is very good at making decisions, he has a very interesting palette. He’s a better dribbler than I thought. He has the advantage of having played for a great college coach [Nate Oats, d’Alabama], where there is a lot of supervision. We could see him even during Summer League training, he knows how to train, everything is very serious, it’s about doing your best. This is what is best for young people, so that they can quickly get up and running. »
>> The presentation of the Charlotte Hornets
In the role of conductor, LaMelo Ball will also be eagerly awaited. Like Tyrese Haliburton at Indiana, it will be up to him to lead the way and pull his teammates up. Basically, if her ankles hold up over 82 games, Charlotte will have what it takes to be competitive.
“His size, quickness, speed and creativity as a creator are exceptional. He also has this love for the game, this passion. He spent a lot of time in the facilities this summer, doing treatments, going to the weight room and on the field. I think he’s one of those guys that’s going to get better as he gets older.” added Steve Clifford. “Yesterday I watched some of his pick-and-roll possessions from last season. He sees everything. With his size, he has the ability to play from different angles. But again, it’s through his passing that he puts pressure on the defense, in different ways.”
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Lamelo Ball | 36 | 35.2 | 41.1 | 37.6 | 83.6 | 1.2 | 5.3 | 6.4 | 8.4 | 3.6 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 3.3 | 23.3 |
| Terry Rozier | 63 | 35.3 | 41.5 | 32.7 | 80.9 | 0.8 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 21.1 |
| Kelly Oubre, Jr. | 48 | 32.2 | 43.1 | 31.9 | 76.0 | 1.4 | 3.8 | 5.2 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 2.9 | 20.3 |
| Pj Washington | 73 | 32.6 | 44.4 | 34.8 | 73.0 | 1.0 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 15.7 |
| Gordon Hayward | 50 | 31.5 | 47.5 | 32.5 | 81.1 | 0.7 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 14.7 |
| Mason Plumlee | 56 | 28.5 | 66.9 | 0.0 | 60.5 | 3.3 | 6.3 | 9.7 | 3.7 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 12.2 |
| Jalen Mcdaniels | 56 | 26.7 | 44.7 | 32.2 | 84.6 | 0.8 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 2.8 | 10.6 |
| Svi Mykhailiuk | 19 | 22.5 | 44.1 | 40.4 | 67.6 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 10.6 |
| Mark Williams | 43 | 19.3 | 63.7 | 0.0 | 69.1 | 2.2 | 4.9 | 7.1 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 9.0 |
| Dennis Smith | 54 | 25.7 | 41.2 | 21.6 | 73.6 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 4.8 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 8.8 |
| Nick Richards | 65 | 18.7 | 62.9 | 100.0 | 74.9 | 2.3 | 4.1 | 6.4 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 8.2 |
| Theo Maledon | 44 | 19.4 | 40.2 | 29.5 | 85.1 | 0.3 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 6.7 |
| James Bouknight | 34 | 15.2 | 35.8 | 30.3 | 66.7 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 5.6 |
| Bryce McGowens | 46 | 17.1 | 39.6 | 32.5 | 75.0 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 5.3 |
| Cody Martin | 7 | 19.1 | 38.9 | 21.4 | 57.1 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 5.0 |
| Xavier Sneed | 4 | 12.1 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 4.3 |
| Jt Thor | 69 | 14.0 | 39.9 | 31.7 | 70.2 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 3.8 |
| Kai Jones | 46 | 11.9 | 55.8 | 21.1 | 73.1 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 3.4 |
| Kobi Simmons | 5 | 5.6 | 16.7 | 20.0 | 100.0 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
