Matthes Manifesto II: Where do the Indiana Pacers stack up in the East?
The Charlotte Hornets
Isn’t it weird seeing Tony Parker in Charlotte Hornet teal and purple?
Anyway, every once in a while all a team needs is someone who’s been there before to change the culture for the better. Admittedly that doesn’t always work, there’s no stat to prove it. There are few franchises that have been as mediocre as the Hornets. Since the Charlotte Hornets became the “Charlotte Hornets” again (2014) they’ve been to the playoffs once. It was 2016, the Hornets won 48 games and took the Miami Heat to a seventh game in the first round.
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Besides positive blip, they’ve won 105 games in the other three years, including back-to-back 36-win campaigns in 2017 and 2018.
Imagine how disheartening that must be, the 2016 Hornets were young, spunky, they had just finished in a three-way tie for the division title, then they follow it up with two straight disappointing seasons including a coaching change.
Seven players remain on the roster from the 2016 team (Nic Batum, Frank Kaminsky, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Jeremy Lamb, Kemba Walker, Marvin Williams and Cody Zeller). Enter Tony Parker.
Parker only knows winning. A player of Parker’s experience can uplift a team who once was victorious and has since lost their edge. Parker can be the sharpener for the Hornets dulled stinger. The ammunition appears to be there. Walker is now a perennial all-star. Zeller (when healthy), Kamnisky and Willy Hernangomez all profile as modern fives. Rookie Miles Bridges fits the profile of a four in the model of Tobias Harris. Dwayne Bacon and Jeremy Lamb are both overlooked threats from the wing.
The parts for a playoff team are assembled, all they need is a little sharpening.