Season Outlook
The key for the Charlotte Hornets entering the 2020-21 NBA season is to continue to develop and improve their young talent, but also get a major uptick in scoring from acquiring Gordon Hayward. The Hornets ranked dead last in scoring last season at 102.9 points per game and had the worst shooting percentage in the league at 43.4 FG%.
In order for Charlotte to be a legit playoff team in the Eastern Conference, they will have to prove early on that they are here to play and able to take early leads on teams in the first-half of games. One of the biggest problems with the Hornets last season was as a result of not having any leadership and very few scoring options, they fell into massive holes early on in games that they could not shoot their way out of.
This year, with Gordon Hayward, Devonte’ Graham, Terry Rozier and P.J. Washington as legit perimeter threats, not only will opposing defenses have to gameplan on how to defend the three-point line, but they will have to figure out ways to slow down LaMelo Ball. The rookie will enter the NBA as a fantastic passer who can find any of his teammates anywhere on the court. It is not crazy to believe that LaMelo Ball is already one of the best passers in the NBA without playing a single minute yet. He is extremely talented offensively and is an amazing disruptor, which could open up the floor for a lot of open shots for the Hornets this upcoming season.
Other guys like Miles Bridges, Cody Zeller and Malik Monk are also expected to take bigger steps in their games and be more reliable offensive threats as well. Bridges is a very athletic wing player who plays well above the rim and Malik Monk was one of the best shooters in the country in 2016-17 at Kentucky. He has faced some demons early on in his NBA career, but is ready to put all of the drama behind him and prove why he was a lottery pick back in the 2017 NBA Draft.
If Gordon Hayward can stay healthy and the young core of the Hornets improves even more this season compared to last season, it is not crazy to think this team can win 30-40 games and slip into the Eastern Conference Playoffs as a seven or eight seed. Both the Nets and the Magic made the playoffs in the Eastern Conference last season with a losing record, so it is not too far-fetched to believe that this youthful and talented Hornets roster could do the same.
