Through a quarter of Lance Stephenson’s first season in Charlotte, he and the Hornets are struggling.
The Charlotte Hornets were not supposed to be here. Before the season began, there was talk the Hornets (Bobcats) of old were gone. The “Hornets” name and branding was set for a return, along with a great new court design. Enter offseason acquisition Lance Stephenson. Yes, that Lance Stephenson.
Lance was coming off a 2013-14 campaign in which he matched a career-high in games started (78), minutes per game (35.3), points (13.8), field-goal percentage (49.1), 3-point percentage (35.2), rebounds (7.2) and assists (4.6). Those numbers were achieved with a combustible Pacers team that was equal parts challenger to the Heat and its own worst enemy due to reported team dissention.
It was presumed that a change of scenery for Lance would benefit both the Pacers and Lance. Well, neither party is off to a great start in 2014. The Pacers have been pushed back by a regressing Roy Hibbert and the gruesome and tragic injury suffered by Paul George during this summer’s Team USA camp. As for the Hornets, there are a number of questions and not a lot of answers.
Stephenson is playing nearly identical minutes to his banner year of 2013-14, and he has seen an increase in his assists per game (now up to 5.3), a career high. But, in spite of this uptick in assists, Stephenson is not converting with Walker at a nearly catastrophic rate. Lance is passing to Kemba 30.4 percent of the time, an average of 14.8 passes per game, but only netting 0.7 assists for his efforts. Likewise, Walker is sending a staggering 41.8 percent of the passes that Lance receives, while generating a terrifyingly low 0.4 assists per NBA.com. Stephenson and Walker are leaving a lot of assists, points and wins on the floor.
In his Nov. 7 piece, SI.com’s Chris Mannix quoted an unnamed scout who had this to say about Stephenson:
“He is trying to make too many plays. He’s not shooting well. The rest of his offensive game isn’t bad. He is passing and rebounding. But his defense is terrible because he is out of shape. He looks like all he did was hang out this summer. I’m not seeing the same intensity. [Charlotte coach] Steve Clifford wants him to defend, and he isn’t doing it.”
While the scouts may have a much stronger intuition for the game than me, you don’t need to be an expert to see the issues at hand. Both Lance and Kemba are shooting at league-low levels from beyond eight feet. There is ample potential in the situation Charlotte has created, both upside and downside. And the upside isn’t all playoff contention; at this point, the rumors of shopping Stephenson are thick.
Bulls Zone suggested a trade for Lance Stephenson could do the Hornets and Bulls some good in Episode 77 of their podcast. This is just one of the many options out there as almost any team that can find some cap room and have moveable assets seems like a viable option for Charlotte.
It isn’t all rain in Charlotte, however. Stephenson is still putting in a huge work rate, and if anything he just needs some time to gel with the rest of the team. The Hornets are currently on a two-game winning streak, and Stephenson put up 13-4-4 in Wednesday night’s victory over Boston with a fantastic +21, a potential indicator that Stephenson is rounding into shape, adjusting to the system and focusing on defense. And, of course, he picked up a technical. Just Lance being Lance.
Stephenson was supposed to help the Charlotte Hornets push for the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Instead, the Hornets are in danger of landing near the No. 3 spot in the lottery. Anything can happen with only about a quarter of the season over, but Lance will need to find a way to overcome his struggles to become the contributor that the Hornets desperately need.
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