The Charlotte Hornets the regular season has been going on for almost a month now and the team has a record of 4-7. The early season rollercoaster has been filled with several triumphs and just as many disappointments. With that being said, let’s take a look at the questions I received from my followers Charlotte Hornets only (Instagram page) regarding the Hornets’ season and the biggest surprises and problems seen so far from the team.

LaMelo Ball is one of the best point guards in the league and it’s simply not a surprise anymore. If that’s a surprise, you’re either not watching or paying attention to Ball’s superstar play. Ball has arguably outperformed every single guard in the NBA this season, as he’s averaging 29.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists, while shooting 44.7% from the field and 37.5% from three. Not only is Ball third in points per game in the NBA, but he’s also second in three-pointers, which leads all guards in the league. Long story short, Ball has been incredible this season, but the 23-year-old can’t do it all by himself, he needs help as the Hornets are 4-7. Who knows where the Hornets would be without their star point guard.

Tidjane Salaün was drafted as a project, but after his superb preseason, he began to gain more optimism for his upcoming rookie season. Unfortunately, he has not been able to continue the excellent play and shooting that he showed in October. Salaün is shooting 25.0% from the field and 22.2% from three on 3.0 attempts per game. The 19-year-old rookie has started two games this season, but is averaging just 3.0 points per contest so far.

Overall, I thought he’d shoot the ball better than 22.2% from three, as that was one of his most prominent bright spots in the preseason, but outside of that, he’s been solid defensively for his age. At 19, it’s clear he has a lot of improvement to make in his game, but it’s a positive that he already appears to be a tough defender with his length and size. While the stats may not show it, his defensive instincts and rebounding seem to be there already even as a young player.

I think Salaün will be good and I expect his shooting efficiency to increase soon, but I’d like to see him work on his overall offensive game, so he doesn’t just become a three-point shooter.

Brandon Miller has had an up and down season so far in his seven games played. Miller’s brightest moments came last week with his game-winner against Detroit and his sparkling third quarter against Indiana, but outside of that, he’s struggled to find his rhythm. Miller recently went 3-18 from the field and 1-10 from three on Tuesday night against Orlando, the least efficient game of his career.

Am I worried? A little. The Orlando game isn’t an aberration, as he’s shot less than 33% from three-of-five of his seven games played. It also seems like his game has been more from beyond the arc this year, rather than last year he was one of the best mid-range scorers in the league. Another aspect worth noting with Miller is 10 of his 15.8 shot attempts have come from long range. To put that into perspective, last season 7.3 of his 14.4 shot attempts came from three.

While I love Miller’s three-point shooting, I think that number needs to decrease if he wants to have more success and better efficiency. I’m not too worried about the second-year player, as I think many, including myself, know how quickly the 21-year-old can get back into rhythm.

LaMelo Ball has easily been the biggest bright spot, but outside of him, how can you not mention Hornets big man Moussa Diabate. Diabate has honestly become one of the Hornets’ fan-favorite players with his impeccable rebounding ability and the effort he gives on both sides of the ball.

Diabate had to step up in a big way with both Nick Richards and Mark Williams currently unavailable to play. Diabate has done a solid job averaging 13.7 rebounds and 5.3 points over his last three games. The 22-year-old has recorded 15+ rebounds in two of his last three contests, and picked up his first career double-double in Tuesday night’s loss to the Magic.

One of the most pressing questions this season has obviously been Mark Williams’ health and what his timetable looks like for a return to action. Well, the problem with that is that there hasn’t been much of an update to give on Williams. The latest update was provided by Charles Lee, who mentioned that Williams is on his way back to play, but has yet to participate in any form of contact or team drills, meaning his return will have to continue to wait.

Charles Lee has won four of his first 11 games to start his head coaching career and honestly, I haven’t been upset or disappointed with the way he’s been coached. Being a first-time head coach has its positives and negatives, but overall it seems like Lee has done a good job maximizing his talent. The Hornets have once again been hit by the injury problem with Miles Bridges, Nick Richards and Mark Williams unavailable, making it difficult to win any night in the NBA.

There could be an argument that some of his rotations have been questionable at times, but you can’t overlook the overall passion and desire he has to make the Hornets a better basketball team. Listening to the Lee coach even puts me out of my seat most times, which should surely encourage the players on the roster. Are things perfect right now? Absolutely not, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to give up on Lee as the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets.

I understand the Hornets are limited to just Moussa Diabate and Taj Gibson currently at the center position, but I don’t really see anyone the Hornets should pursue in free agency. In fairness, Richards will most likely be back in two to three weeks or less and Williams should follow suit. With that in mind, I don’t see the Hornets pursuing any other free agent centers left on the market. Additionally, the Hornets have started to see positive effects from Diabate, which most likely encourages Hornets management not to pick up the phone to add another center.

One of the not so big surprises for the Hornets has been Josh Green’s inability to impact the game on the stat sheet in his nine appearances. Green has struggled to find his role on the team and hasn’t quite had a breakout game. Since leaving Dallas, many, including myself, have believed that a fresh start would open up more opportunities for the 23-year-old, but they haven’t quite arrived yet.

Since it’s only nine games, I’m not hitting the panic button quite yet, but it’s definitely something for the fans to keep an eye on. Green is averaging just 1.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists in his last four games, while shooting 10.0% from the field without a single 3-pointer.

Honestly, it’s probably a team effort outside of LaMelo Ball. But if I were to narrow it down to a couple of players, I would say Tidjane Salaün, Josh Green and Brandon Miller need to be better for Charlotte to win basketball games. I understand that it’s a lot of pressure to put the rookie Salaün because he wasn’t expected to play a lot of minutes this season, but if he could get a couple of those 3-point shots to start falling, it could help the Hornets drastically. dynamic.

Similar to Josh Green I mentioned earlier, he needs to be more aggressive and look for his shot. Having him in the starting lineup averaging just four points isn’t going to cut it because it makes it easier for defenses to focus more on Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball. With Miles Bridges currently unavailable with a knee injury, that means Miller has to take another step offensively and be aggressive. Too many times this season it feels like Miller hasn’t been sure of his game. If the Hornets want to stay in the playoff race, Miller will need to perform like he did at the end of last season, which I’m confident he will.

One of the most common questions in recent seasons has been precisely this. The problem with the question is that it has nothing to do with the overall team or how it is built, but rather the injuries that have occurred continuously.

Do I think the Hornets will be over .500 this season? I’d say there’s a chance, but that’s only if Mark Williams comes back relatively soon and doesn’t miss a step, while the other core players stay healthy. Obviously, Ball will most likely need to play over 60 plus games if the Hornets want to be anywhere near .500, as he is easily not only the team’s best player, but one of the best players in the league here. season. This healthy Hornets team has some really solid potential, but the question still remains, will the Charlotte Hornets ever be fully healthy again?

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