Hornets head coach Steve Clifford believes the team can dispel the notion of being soft once it overcomes injuries, he told Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer.
“I think that we are very much viewed as a finesse offensive team and I think there is a lot of toughness here. … When we have everybody healthy we are going to be a team that plays with a lot of physicality,” he said. “I don’t see any reason why we can’t be good at all those energy effort areas. Defensive rebounding, defensive transition, keeping the ball out of the paint, being good at loose balls, being good at screening. I don’t see why we can’t do that. So I think that for me is a real positive.”
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Hornets star LaMelo Ball struggled with his shooting and committed five fouls in his season debut against Miami on Saturday. Still, Ball – who had 15 points, six rebounds and six assists – was just happy to get back in action, according to Boone. “I feel straight,” Ball said. “More games, it will get easier. So, I think I’m in a good spot.”
- The top pick in the draft, the Magic‘s Paolo Banchero, missed his third consecutive game on Monday due to a left ankle sprain, Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel tweets. Banchero was off to a sparkling start to his NBA career before suffering the injury. He’s averaging 23.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
- After scoring 20-plus points in his first two games, Hawks forward John Collins has averaged 10.4 points in his last 11. Collins said it’s just a matter of touches, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports. He has taken 10 or fewer shots in seven of his last nine games. “I definitely feel like I can shoot the damn ball,” Collins said. “But, you know, sometimes it’s just hard to get a rhythm. I feel like my rhythm might be just a little bit off, but I’m respecting the game and trying to continue to stay in the gym and shoot and not really think too much about it.”
John Collins is still a beast, it’s just becoming more & more obvious that Nate doesn’t really know how to unlock him. In Nate’s offense this season John is basically the 5th option. That’s a waste of scoring talent plain & simple. He’s been pretty good defensively this yr (other than the gm when Zion torched him), especially last night vs Giannis/Lopez/Portis. But it’s clear that he would bring more value to other teams (Pho, Utah & SA just to name a few out West) than he does to us. There’s also the issue of his mangled finger. Doesn’t seem to be a huge issue as far as affecting his shot or his game in general but it’s def not a positive. And it may partially explain why he hasn’t gotten quite as many touches if his teammates (specifically Trae) have lost a bit of confidence in him since the injury… Getting tougher should still be a priority for this team. As much as I love John & am not nearly as high on Cam Johnson, I feel like John for Crowder & Cam Johnson would add toughness & shooting to our squad. It would also give us a lot more financial flexibility both now & going forward… all that said I def don’t mind keeping John until after Bogdan comes back to see how the whole team plays together.
Charlotte has lost half of its identity with Beasealy being out. Rozier and Haywood have become invisible because of it as well.
Of the two, I am putting Rozier on the clock.
Plenty of teams could use him right now and will make fair offers as a result.
Tapping my best Sankara Cafe touch, I could go for some Rozier for DeAngelo right about now.
I believe DeAngelo needs to be back in the east. He is not a west guy. A conference switch for Rozier is not a bad idea.