A healthy pressure: Finally with a full compliment of players, Hornets can now mix-and-match to their delight
'There’s capable bodies right behind you that can step in and take up those minutes'
There was something distinctly noticeable about things Thursday and we’re not simply talking about the Hornets’ owner being among the attendees on the first night fans were allowed back in the arena since the start of the global pandemic exactly a year ago.
Ok, well that was part of it.
“It’s always good playing in front of the G.O.A.T.,” Terry Rozier said, no doubt still happy after scoring 12 of his 17 points in a big fourth quarter performance. “He was here this morning and I think we were all kind of (looking around). Obviously when he steps in, his presence, it’s different. It’s great for us to get a win in front of him. It’s always good to get a win in front of Michael Jordan.”
That victory — a 105-102 decision over Detroit — pushed the Hornets to .500 and padded their record when leading after three quarters to an impressive 14-0. But really more than anything, it kind of served as a reminder of just how many interchangeable cogs they have to throw at the opposition.
It didn’t take coach James Borrego all that long to go 10 deep into his rotation, which was altered after he elected to go with the same starting lineup that was effective near the tail end of their trip out west. So that meant Devonte’ Graham has now been thrust into a bench role, expected to come in as a reserve and provide a spark similar to the way he did prior to stepping in as a starter early in the 2019-20 season when his good buddy Dwayne Bacon couldn’t get it going with the opening unit.
As the second half of their seasons gets underway, the Hornets’ rotation could have a early-season feel. Deciding how or when to make tweaks to the lineups and searching for enough time for the various successful combinations (ie: having Rozier, Graham and LaMelo Ball on the court together) are things that will have to be sorted through for a while.
“Yeah, I felt like on the road trip there was some rhythm there, and we took a week off, and now we have a new group,” Borrego said. “I feel like we’re reintroducing guys in different spots. It felt a little bit uncomfortable out there for a minute. But we’ll get there. We’ll get there. We’ll find our rotations, we’ll find our guys and how we play this thing. So, I’m not worried about that. We knocked a little bit of that rust off, but it did feel different. It’s just a different rotation for us, but I think our guys handled it with maturity.
“I like going 10-deep, I think it allows us to be more fresh down the stretch — not only within the game, but in the season. I think we’re going to be fresh as we come down the stretch here. So I’ll just have to manage those minutes along the way.”
Some insight on how they’ll play it was revealed against the Pistons. Graham, Miles Bridges, Malik Monk, Cody Martin and Bismack Biyombo were the ones summoned off the bench. There may be times when Caleb Martin slides in rather than his twin brother (hey, both could play in the same game as well) and there could be occasions when Biyombo registers a DNP-Coach’s Decision if small-ball is heavily featured on the menu that given night.
Borrego said it’s almost going to be like a puzzle for a while sorting through it all.
Given their slim margin for error, just how often they have their complete compliment of players available should go a long way in determining their fate over these next two months. Barring another (gulp!) injury or flat-out ineffectiveness, the lineup the Hornets trotted out to tip the action off against the Pistons is going to be a mainstay. So get used to it.
Just don’t get overly comfortable predicting the range of minutes each will log.
“They’ve given us a good start,” Borrego said. “I like that group. They were good on the road trip on both sides of the ball. They’ve got to get us off to good starts. But now we’ve got depth behind them. It’s put pressure on guys in a healthy way to continue to play hard because if you are not, there’s people behind you that are more than capable of carrying your load. And we need that. For us to take that next step, everybody’s got to be at their best. That’s the goal right now, is everybody’s got to bring their best and having that healthy pressure behind you does that.
“There’s no minutes that are guaranteed here. There’s capable bodies right behind you that can step in and take up those minutes. So that’s a good problem for us. It’s only going to push us to be better as a group. So I like it. I like where we are at. That’s healthy competition. But this group’s united. They are pulling for each other, I can tell you that.”
Call it a welcomed problem of sorts for everyone.
“Before the break we were dealing with a lot of injuries, and one was going down and one would come back,” Rozier said. “We were dropping like flies. But it’s always great to have a full and healthy team. And we are looking to do something special. We’ve got to take it game-by-game, but just to see our team fully healthy and everybody back, that’s just a great sign. So we want to keep that going and take care of our bodies so we can have our roster like this.”