Today is Sunday, September 22. Officially the second day of fall, yes, and indeed another Sunday where the collective sporting world will turn its head to the game on the Gridiron for week 3 of the NFL season. So, how is today significant you ask?
It means we are a complete month away from the opening of the 2019-2020 NBA regular season.
And how swiftly the year has transcended into its final quarter. Throughout the past 3 months without pertinent NBA action, we’ve seen assemblies of league titans on teams who otherwise would not even be in consideration of a playoff spot prior to their arrival, and hefty factions of superstars and dynastic rosters dissipate and seek contention elsewhere.
We expect annual facelifts of the league’s infrastructure, but not to this extent. This wild offseason rivaled, or toppled, the zaniness of the 2016 offseason when the then-new Collective Bargaining Agreement was settled amongst the higher-ups. Cap space skyrocketed for just about all 30 clubs since then, and large deals sprinkled across the league were done in multitudes. We saw the defending and repeating champion Golde State Warriors lose both of their finals MVPs in Kevin Durant to Brooklyn, and Andre Iguodala to the Memphis Grizzlies (or more than likely, elsewhere, pending his eventual buyout with Memphis).
We have seen the former Thunder Buddies reunite in H-Town as Russell Westbrook rejoins James Harden, and becomes the last piece of the original OKC big four to relocate to a new contender. The Utah Jazz scored big in June by acquiring some backcourt help for Donavan Mitchell by signing Mike Conley Jr., the Grizzlies’ all-time franchise leader in points. Aside from Kevin Durant, the Nets
And what was easily the loudest bombshell to drop in almost a decade, the city of Los Angeles has become the nexus of all championship hopes in just a couple of months, with the new-look Clippers, after aligning together the fearsome tandem of 2-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, look to do battle with the new-look Lakers who picked up disgruntled all-star Anthony Davis via a requested trade from New Orleans.
Every roster across the league looks significantly different, as they should every year. Yet, with the roster overhauls stemming from this offseason, expectations for up-and-coming franchises are coming into fruition, regardless of a rebuilding season or playoff push.
With that in mind, We here at SneakerReporter are making a list of the top 30 teams ranked from worst to best, and for today and the next 29 days, see where your favorite team makes it on the countdown.
Starting off our list: the Charlotte Hornets.
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30. Charlotte Hornets (12-70) – With Their Lone Superstar Departed, Charlotte Must Rebuild
Hornets fans: do yourself a favor and really curb your expectations (as if you were not doing that already).
There is little to no reason to have any optimistic belief about the capabilities of a roster now without their all-star guard and only reliable piece of offense that can have plays drawn up for. Hornets owner Michael Jordan refused to offer him the max in persuading him to stay in Charlotte, and now Kemba Walker is in Boston and is now on the most talented roster he has been on since his UCONN days.
It is unfathomable to view any pragmatic solution to the firestorm that is Hornets basketball at the moment. Sure, therein lies the athletic prowess of Miles Bridges, who could make a major leap in 2019 to be viewed as the No.1 guy Hornets coach James Borrego can depend on.
And then there is always the curious case of a certain Nicolas Batum, who posted his most efficient numbers in the league since 2014. So, there is a venerable case to be made regarding his ascension to his Portland form, but still plenty of reason to believe that he just does not have the intangibles to perform at his highest level anymore.
Last season, Batum averaged 9.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 31.4 minutes. His efficiency was much higher than usual, shooting 45 percent overall and 39 percent from deep. It was his lowest scoring average since his rookie season in 2008, but his highest efficiency since his second-to-last season with the Trailblazers.
Granted, this is a team that just missed the very cusp of competing in the postseason back in April, losing their playoff spot to the 8th seeded Detroit Pistons by a measly two games. And the obvious factor worth the mention: Kemba Walker was there. Also, Jeremy Lamb is headed to Indiana to strengthen their already strong backcourt composed of Victor Oladipo and Malcolm Brogdon. Those are 40 points a game (or more) subtracted from their offensive effort, making the Hornets attack that much more inept.
Taking his place is the former Boston backup guard Terry Rozier, widely dubbed “Scary Terry”. It may not be quite the picture-perfect fill-in for the three-time all-star and All-NBA Third Team selection, but it is something to work with.
Rozier finished 2018 averaging 9 points per game off 38.7 percent shooting from the field while coming off the bench. Rozier’s best numbers came in the 2017-2018 postseason as the Celtics were only a game away from advancing to the NBA Finals, though LeBron James’ Cavaliers had something to say about Boston’s title aspirations last year.
His exodus from Boston ended abruptly amidst publicized locker-room dysfunction and media speculation, but the past is in the past, so he says. Rozier brings substantial postseason experience and now has the opportunity to be what he has theorized himself to be: a go-to franchise point guard that can have an entire offense ran through his ball-handling, tenacity and scoring skillset.
The Hornets had a decent, not great, draft back in June, selecting Kentucky guard PJ Washington 12th overall in the first round. The 21-year-old initially tested the NBA Draft process last year. However, after learning that he was not likely to be picked in the first round, Washington returned to Kentucky for his sophomore season and vowed to become a better player.
The thing is, he became better. Washington went from averaging 10.8 points and 5.7 rebounds as a freshman to averaging 15.2 points and 7.5 as a sophomore. He made vast strides in his ability to both score from, and defend, the perimeter with his 6’7, 227-lb frame, and his impressive 7’2.5 wingspan, as well as bolster his ball-handling and rebounding. I mean, he knocked down 42 percent of his threes in his final year as a Wildcat, which almost seamlessly meshes with today’s conversation of how to develop into today’s ideal pick n’ pop stretch big.
Washington was a safe pick, a low-risk-and-high-reward selection for Charlotte, but if he lives up to or defies expectations of his draft stock, the combination of an uber-athletic Bridges-Washington frontcourt could be a vehemence to develop in the Hornets’ future.
The Hornets are a young team with potential. Sounds cliche’? That’s because that is all they are at the moment. And that is not a bad thing. With a bench including the likes of Cody Martin from Nevada, veterans Malik Monk, and Devonte’ Graham, do not expect Charlotte to make any noise in the East for years to come, as the development of their prospective pieces will tell the story.
It is increasingly evident the Hornets finish in the lower tier of Eastern conference contention this year and the ensuing years in the path to becoming a lottery pick team, but it is all a part of a process, or so Hornets fans hope.
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