5 TAKEAWAYS From The Hornets Preseason

From team identity to players showing tremendous improvement I breakdown the 5 main takeaways from the preseason.

1. Team Defensive Improvement

One of the big question marks for the Hornets was their defense ranking 29th in team defensive rating the 2nd worst in the entire association. One of the main concerns was rotations, finishing out defensive possessions where for most of the shot clock the team played well but in the last 4-8 seconds the defense would breakdown due to a lack of defensive talent and a lack of a modern defensive scheme due to coaching.

Reviewing film during the preseason you can see the great effort on that side of the ball forcing multiple shot clock violations. I know it’s just preseason and a lot of players in the clips are not on the roster anymore but the fact the communication and effort was so high from players who haven’t had a lot of experience playing together is what has impressed me and will lead me into my next takeaway.

2. Charles Lee Impressing

I knew Charles Lee was the best candidate for the Hornets when the Hornets hired him and I knew how important he was for the Hawks, Bucks, and Celtics. But I questioned what his identity would be as a first time head coach, and if the players would immediately buy into him as a coach and so far I will say Lee has absolutely been the best first time head coach hire so far. Offensively the team will be much better and he is continuing to push star players like LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller to not only get better but to improve their effort on both sides of the ball especially from LaMelo which is music to my ears. All that said he values defense the most for a team that needs improvement in that area and I truly believe he is the right guy for the job.

3. Tidjane Salaün is Better Than Expected

Now, I am not saying Salaün will get rotation minutes immediately there is definitely moments I have seen him not be NBA ready quite yet but for a player that was viewed to be the most raw lottery pick this year I have been absolutely shocked by his performances. Although it was just preseason his shot making and form looked much better in just a few months, Salaün has a high motor and wants to get better everyday fitting perfectly into the identity the Hornets are looking to build over the next few years. Salaün has a lot of room to grow and I have been beyond impressed with his performances this preseason outside of his last game against the Pacers although he was still able to make an impact grabbing 13 rebounds even though his shot was not falling. His best game coming against the Memphis Grizzlies 13 points, 5 rebounds, 1assist, 1 steal here are the highlights:

4. Tre Mann May Breakout

Earlier this week I made a video on my YouTube channel breaking down why I feel Tre Mann will be the Breakout Player of The Year for the Charlotte Hornets and I feel Tre Mann will prove me right. Mann in his preseason games has shot above 50% in every game scoring 15/14/19/16 in every contest he has highlighted his ability to maneuver one on one scoring inside, mid range, and three-point range he has it all. Also, he’s probably the best all-around player on the hornets roster being a elite rebounder for a guard and a really good defender I expect Tre Mann to surprise the league by being a candidate for 6th man of the year for the Hornets. Tre Mann is betting on himself and is looking to make good money after this season and the Hornets should consider Tre Mann an important player to resign after this season.

5. How Good Will Ball & Miller Be?

LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller this year will be the backcourt for the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets will have a 6”7 All-NBA caliber point guard and a 6”9 3 level scoring shooting guard for the next few years. How will they fit? That is the biggest question for this season We have already had moment of watching the two get buckets in a two man actions with give and go’s leading into a three-point make for Miller off of a LaMelo Ball drive to the left vs The New York Knicks. I am extremely excited for this season and think Melo & Miller is the best young backcourt in the entire NBA with a ton of potential to get into more meaningful conversations in terms of rankings.

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