The Lowdown, Volume III: 'The bar has been raised'
Details on how the Hornets are trying to build winning ways, Gordon Hayward's strong play and veteran influence, Devonte' Graham's shooting woes and Charlotte's big assist numbers
Climbing above .500 is one thing for the Hornets. Staying above it is another.
As they try to build a new culture that’s ripe with blue-collar excitement and void of fruitless postseason quests, the Hornets hope to push the envelope past mediocrity. It’s been years since Charlotte has comfortably had more wins than losses and they think this could be the season they snap that futile streak.
That journey towards a winning establishment begins with a newfound mindset.
“I think our mentality now, the bar has been raised,” coach James Borrego said. “The mentality is we want to win every single game. We believe we can win every single game. That’s the mentality when we step out on the floor. We want to be a winning organization. We want to be someone that’s consistently in the playoffs. We want to be a team that’s contending in the Eastern Conference. And that just takes … it’s not one move, it’s not one draft.”
Actually, it extends deeper than that.
“It’s all these acquisitions,” Borrego said. “It’s the development of players. It’s hitting on second-rounders. It’s hitting in the draft. It’s developing guys. It’s getting them better. And it’s just not one thing but over the course of time it opens up opportunities and right now we are in a good place. We believe we are headed in the right direction. The mentality right now is to win every single game and to go out there and compete. And I believe we have a team that can do that. No matter who’s in front of us, we believe we have a shot every single night. And that mentality has to stay there.
That’s where Borrego puts the onus on himself.
“And I think the challenge right now is getting comfortable and that’s where I have to make sure that our guys are focused game-to-game, day-to-day,” he said. “That we don’t relax and think we’ve accomplished something. We are only 11 games in. This is a journey, this is a process. The way winning cultures and organizations are formed, they do it night-in and night-out. And that’s the challenge, that you don’t get complacent, you don’t think that you’ve done something amazing, and you go out the next night and you do it again and you do it again. And to me, that’s what winning looks like.”
THE HAYWARD SHOW
Statistically, it’s been a rather impressive week for Gordon Hayward.
In his last four games, Hayward is averaging 29.3 points, shooting 55.4 percent (41 of 74) overall and 50 percent (11-for-22) from 3-point range. Suffice to say, he is settling in nicely with his new teammates, comfortably doing the things that typify why the Hornets wanted to bring him in.
Besides the obvious tasks, such as scoring and playmaking, it’s also on him to find the right method to transfer the winning knowledge he picked up during his days in Utah and Boston.
The Hornets, as we know, haven’t exactly been a perennial playoff contender.
“I think it’s kind of a challenge and certainly one of the reasons why I came here — to try and get us to that next level,” Hayward said. “We’ve got a lot of young talented pieces, and part of when you’re in the NBA is figuring out how do you start winning basketball games is something I think all teams go through. All players, young players — it’s something I went through in Utah. We had a couple of years there where we took our lumps, and I think those are experiences that you learn from and you can take those with you.
“So certainly coming here with a young team, trying to instill some of those experiences — it’s about building winning habits, it’s about having a mentality of doing your job every night, being a professional. And we have a long ways to go with that and I think we know that. But certainly this streak we’re on right now, we’re growing here and we’re trying build some momentum. So hopefully we can keep it going.”
A soothing influence like Hayward is much-needed thing considering the Hornets feature the fourth-youngest roster in the league. Even on nights like Saturday against Atlanta, when he didn’t have it going the same fashion he did in his two prior games, Hayward is still contributing.
If he can’t get into a good enough groove, sure it’s frustrating. But he has other duties that come with serving as the all-around guy the Hornets were looking for when they inked him to that mega deal. And he’s effectively executing them if you ask Borrego.
“He’s a pro,” Borrego said. “He’s been here before. Big games. College, pro. He’s not fazed by a bad half, a bad quarter, a bad shooting night. He just comes out the next night and gets the same looks.
“I think even in his huddles and timeouts, they are leading a lot of these timeouts. They are talking and Gordon’s been a main voice in there. ‘Stay the course, this is going to turn, everybody remain positive in the right direction.’ He has that credibility. He’s been here, he’s done it before and he gives us a calming force.”
‘TAE OK
Could Monday have finally been that breakthrough for Devonte’ Graham?
Immersed in a bad shooting slump to begin the season, Graham pumped in a season-high 19 points and went 7-for-15 against the Knicks. That was easily the best outing of his third season, a relief of sorts given the struggles. But through it all, he said he kept going back to the same thing.
“Just keep shooting,” Graham said. “My teammates just keep telling me to ‘Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot.’ So, I passed up a couple shots and guys [were] getting on me about pump faking and not shooting. It’s mental, definitely, but you just got to shoot your way out of it. If you don’t shoot it, it’s not going to go in.”
Graham hasn’t seen a whole lot of the ball sailing through the hoop this season. He’s shooting 29.1 percent and 29.8 percent beyond the arc. It’s prompted constant queries about his jumper.
His scoring average is nearly seven points lower than it was a season ago. And he’s been as perplexed as anyone.
“The crazy thing is my shot feels so good every time I release it,” Graham said. “It’s not going in. I mean, I can’t pay attention to the percentages. I was looking at (the New Orleans Pelicans’ loss to Oklahoma City on Wednesday) before the game (Friday) and I saw JJ (Redick) was shooting like 9-for-40 or something like that. So it’s like everybody struggles and you are going to go through struggles and you can’t let it mess with you. You’ve got to go out and keep shooting. Everybody has been telling me to keep shooting. They got faith in me, I’ve got to believe in myself so that’s what we do.”
SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE
Through the season’s first month, there’s been one main constant for the Hornets: their collective penchant for making the appropriate pass at the correct time is second to none in the league.
The Hornets entered mid-week action ranked first in assists at 28.9 per game. That’s an incredible amount and means the ball is constantly moving and isn’t getting stuck in someone’s hands.
Could there be a connection to the players’ genuine like for each other and the number of assists that are being seemingly continuously distributed?
“I think our play on the court reflects our culture on the interior,” Borrego said. “We’re an unselfish group. We care about each other, we play for each other and that’s reflected on the court. I expect them to play the same way on the court — move the ball and share the ball. If somebody else is more open than you, kick it. This is a team-first culture. It’s an unselfish culture and I expect you to play that way on the court.
“I think that’s being shown and reflected. It’s really what unites you. I keep saying this to our group, that’s where the energy is found in life and a basketball team — is how you play together, how you pull for each other. And in these dead-open arenas, our energy has to come from playing together. On offense, on defense, playing with the pass, being committed to the defensive end, that’s where we’re going to generate our most energy is playing together. So I think we’ve done that to this point and I think the numbers reflect that. But I feel that on the interior with the spirit of our culture, but I see it also on the floor.”
And the passing is infectious when playing on a team that’s selfless.
“It’s great, it’s great,” Terry Rozier said. “That’s just something that we emphasized coming in early, just trying to create the best shot for our team, create disadvantages and stuff like that. That’s us just getting together on days like this when we don’t practice as hard, but we still go over our plays so we can set up the best shot.
“But for us to share the ball like the way we’ve been doing is special.”