I don’t know why, but it always seems like when the all-star break approaches, the Hornets are desperate to get there. It isn’t a desire to get there to participate in the all-star activities as much as it is for us to recover from nagging injuries. Every single year, it seems like we have key players hurt, and any stretch where we can be free from playing games means time to heal, and no losses mounting.
I say that this is happening every year. I guess I should be researching that so I can share specific players…
Last year around this time was Al Jefferson trying to return from being out with a groin injury, and Kemba Walker with a left knee cyst was trying to play through the pain. This was a team where scoring options were few and far between if Kemba and Al were out. Kemba Walker had an ankle injury around this time in 2014. I think you get my point.
Believe me; I completely understand that injuries are always going to happen in the NBA. The whole purpose of a foul is so that a player doesn’t get hurt while playing due to overly aggressive defense that could cause injury. I always say that the Hornets get the short end of the stick when it comes to getting those foul calls. I’m not even going to research that one, but in way too many games that I have watched, I’ve muttered the words, “Someone’s going to get hurt if they let them keep playing that rough.” Sometimes they do get hurt, and sometimes they don’t.
You must have depth in order to be able to survive injuries to the team. For the Hornets, this season began with lots of promise and what appeared to be lots of depth. As our guys began to get hurt, that depth was put to the test, and the unfortunate result was that our Hornets, who started out at a blistering pace, stumbled into injuries to key players that even with depth, would kill our ability to win games.
It all began with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist’s shoulder injury in the preseason. That was the first hit we took. Even with that injury, we were able to stay focused and win a whole pile of games. We won enough to be a top-3 team in the East. We had to enjoy it while we could because over a quick stretch, Al Jefferson went down with a calf strain, then a 5-game suspension for substance abuse, and finally meniscus surgery, requiring 5-7 weeks of rehab before he could return. New acquisitions also fell victim to injury as well. Nic Batum has a toe that he keeps spraining, Jeremy Lin suffered an ankle sprain that I believe was much worse that anyone, including himself, would share with us. Jeremy Lamb has a sprained toe and Cody Zeller now has a strained shoulder. I just keep waiting for Jeremy Lin to be our due to concussion protocol just because he gets hit in the head so much.
Now, some injuries are worse than other. Some may keep players out, and others may not. We can all agree though that playing through injury only raises the risk for making the injury worse, and they do not heal quickly.
Let me share some quick numbers to illustrate my point.
If Cody, Nic, and J-Lamb were not available to play in our next game, we would have a potential 35.3 points sitting on the bench. We would get production from their replacements, right? I suppose the players that could fill in would be PJ, Troy, and Hawes. That would give us 15.8 points to fill in. That’s almost a 20 point drop in point production. This means you have to count on Kemba, Lin, and Marvin to chip in an extra 20 points. Those 3 are already giving us 41.8 points in a game. Bottom line is that we just don’t have the scoring threats that can take up the slack. We have 5 guys that are averaging in double figure scoring. Of those 5, 3 of them would be starters. 1 of the 3 is recovering from meniscus surgery. Another 1 of the 3 is still having “toe problems”.
Our current starting 5, as is, only averages 50.7 points. If we were 100% healthy, we could have a starting 5 that produces 69.4 points (That’s starting Kemba, Lin, Batum, Marvin, and Al). Compared to teams like Cleveland, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio, we would look to be in really good shape. Even the bench production doesn’t look bad for us. They can average us 49.7 points per game.
Obviously none of these numbers are realistic. It’s a perfect world scenario where everyone hits their averages. It would be great if it could happen, but more often than not, it does not. Starting 5 is always up in the air, and if you start your top-5 scorers, then your bench is just on the floor, trying to not blow a lead, and more importantly, struggling to score.
The bottom line is that injuries are killing us right now. We can only hope that Al can come back and be another double-digit scorer for this team. We can hope that MKG returns and in addition to being one of the best defenders in the league, we can hope that his hard work in the offseason, and during his recovery, we can see him return as a double-digit scorer as well.
Only time will tell with this team. We all keep screaming for trades that will only work on ESPN’s NBA Trade Machine or NBA 2K16. Reality is that this team is always looking to improve. We’re always looking for trades that would best benefit the team to push them to the next level. I say it every year, and even with this season and our increase in talent, I have to say it again: Be Patient. All we can do is remain patient. Injuries are unavoidable, and we have more than our fair share this season, but once we are healthy, look for a Charlotte Hornets team that will look more like what we saw at the beginning of the season than what we are seeing now. That means to not count out the playoffs. I still think we make playoffs this year. A 100% healthy Hornets team can beat pretty much any team in the league, as long as they play the right way.
The right way, in case anyone hasn’t heard me say it 100 times this season, is good TEAM basketball with many shots made off of passes. If you see a game with 26 made shots and 20 were off of assists; that was a good game. Games where assists are below 20, we probably aren’t winning those.
Stay strong Beelievers! Brighter days are coming as our Hornets get healthy again. We just have to remain patient.
Let’s Go Hornets
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