Charlotte Hornets Point Guards; Lots of Depth, Experience with the Team

Charlotte Hornets and depth are 2 words that, for the longest time, have not really gone together.  In terms of basketball, depth refers to the amount of “quality” players you have at any given position.  With depth comes strength of the team.  That strength is so very important for many reasons.  Depth means that when a player has to rotate out for rest, in case of injury, or even if it’s just foul trouble, the talent level doesn’t dive off of a cliff once the starter sits down.  Obviously, you’ll never have 3 “starting level” players that play the same position, play on one team.  You couldn’t afford a scenario like that, but you also have constant battles over who should start.  Instead, depth can be defined as having a starter caliber player, a secondary player that can cover for the starter if they are unable to play, and a 3^rd point guard that is very capable of backing up the 2^nd point guard.

Confused yet?

Last season, we had to point guards on the team that were very similar in the talent level.  Kemba Walker was the starter on the team, and Jeremy Lin was 2^nd in the depth chart.  Lin was such a strong backup to Kemba that he could have started himself, if we needed him to, or he could even play alongside Kemba, and the talent level would have been very strong.  As with every player, Lin wanted to be a starter in the NBA.  With his talent level, The Brooklyn Nets decided that they wanted him to be their starting point guard.  The end result left the Hornets with a strong starting point guard in Kemba Walker, and really nothing behind him.  This season, however, is quite different.  We actually have the depth of players that I described.  Ramon Sessions is returning to the Hornets this year.  Having previous experience with the team and the coaching staff, having Ramon return is more important than many realize.  He already knows our system, so basically, the players that were here when he was here before have matured and their game has improved a bunch.  Ramon will have to learn how much better the players are, and how he can help them get even better.  Veteran experience is key as well.  He can easily step in and take care of business while Kemba gets a break on the bench.  Behind Ramon is another Hornets alumni in Brian Roberts.  Here we have yet another player that knows the coach, knows the system, and knows the players.  Often referred to as “Kemba-lite”, he will be able to step in and also contribute to the team without having to learn a new system.

Number gurus…Here are their career stats.  I believe they show the similarity in each player and the step progression that I mentioned fairly well:

Heck, if you just wanted to compare how each player did last season:

My point is that the Charlotte Hornets have 3 competent and comfortable point guards on this team that provide stable depth that will be great for this upcoming season.  Agree with me or disagree with me.  These are our guys.  I think we are in capable hands.  I’d love to hear any and all feedback on it, so by all means, share comments here on the site.

Let’s Go Hornets

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