Hornets Mailbag: Overall thoughts + biggest concerns & positives among early 2024-2025 Hornets' season

10 key questions regarding the Hornets start of the season + the negatives/positives seen thus far.

Austin Leake | Nov 15, 2024

Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

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Charlotte Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets regular season has been underway for nearly a month now, and the team sports a 4-7 record. The roller coaster of the early season has been filled with multiple triumphs and equally as many disappointments. With that being said, let's take a look at the questions I received from my followers over at CharlotteHornetsOnly (Instagram page) regarding the Hornets' season and the biggest surprises and problems seen thus far from the team.

What's your thoughts on LaMelo Ball's breakout season?

LaMelo Ball is one of the best point guards in the league and it's simply not a surprise anymore. If it's a surprise, then you're either not watching or paying attention to Ball's superstar play. Arguably, Ball has outplayed every single guard in the NBA this season, as he's averaging 29.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists, while shooting 44.7% from the field and 37.5% from three. Not only is Ball third in points per game in the NBA, but he's also second in three-pointers made, leading all guards in the association. Short story short, Ball has been incredible this season, but the 23-year-old can't do it all by himself, he needs help as the Hornets are 4-7. Who knows where the Hornets would be without their star point-guard.

What are your overall thoughts on Tidjane Salaün's play so far?

Tidjane Salaün was drafted as a project, but after his superb preseason, he began to gain more optimism about his upcoming rookie season. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to continue that excellent play and shooting that he showed in October. Salaün has shot percentages of 25.0% from the field and 22.2% from three on 3.0 attempts per game. The 19-year-old rookie has started in two games this season, but has averaged just 3.0 points per contest thus far.

Overall, I thought he would shoot the ball better than 22.2% from three, as that was one of his most prominent bright spots in the preseason, but outside of that he has been solid on the defensive end for his age. At 19-years-old, it's clear that he has a lot of improvements to make in his game, but it's a positive that he seems to already be a tenacious defender with his length and size. Although, the stats may not show it, his defensive instincts and rebounding seem to already be there even as a young player.

I believe Salaün will be just fine and I expect his shooting efficiency to pick up soon, but I would like to see him work on his overall offensive game, so he doesn't become just a corner three-point shooter.

Are you concerned about Brandon Miller's start to the season?

Brandon Miller has had an up-and-down season so far in his seven games played. Miller's brightest moments came last week with his game-winner versus Detroit and his blistering third quarter against Indiana, but outside of that, he's struggled to find his rhythm. Miller recently went 3-18 from the field and 1-10 from three on Tuesday night versus Orlando, the least efficient game of his playing career.

Am I concerned? A little bit. The Orlando game isn't an aberration, as he's shot less than 33% from three in five of his seven games played. It also seems as if his game has been more outside the arc this year, rather than last year he was one of the best mid-range scorers in the league. Another aspect that is worth noting with Miller is 10 of his 15.8 shot attempts have came from long-range. To put it into perspective, last season, 7.3 of his 14.4 shot attempts came from three.

Although I love Miller shooting three-pointers, I believe that number needs to go down if he wants to have more success and better efficiency. I'm not too worried about the second-year player, as I think many including myself know just how quick the 21-year-old can get back into rhythm.

What's been the biggest bright spot outside of LaMelo Ball?

LaMelo Ball has easily been the biggest bright spot, but outside of him, how can you not mention the Hornets big man, Moussa Diabate. Diabate has honestly become one of the Hornets fan-favorite players with his impeccable ability to rebound the basketball and the effort he gives on both sides of the ball.

Diabate had to step up in a major way with both Nick Richards and Mark Williams currently unavailable to play. Diabate has done a solid job, averaging 13.7 rebounds and 5.3 points in his last three games. The 22-year-old has recorded 15+ rebounds in two of his last three contests, and notched his first career double-double in Tuesday night's loss to the Magic.

When is Mark Williams coming back?

One of the hardest hitting questions this season has obviously been about Mark Williams' health and what his timetable looks like for return to play. Well, the problem with that is, there hasn't been much of an update to give on Williams. The last update was given by Charles Lee, who mentioned Williams is on the return to play, but has yet to participate in any form of contact or team drills, which means his return will have to continue to wait.

What are your thoughts on Charles Lee's overall coaching from what we've seen?

Charles Lee has won four out of his first 11 games to start his head coaching career and honestly I haven't been upset or disappointed with how he's coached. Being a first time head-coach has its positives and its negatives, but overall it seems that Lee has done a good job of maximizing his talent. The Hornets have once again been stricken by the injury bug with Miles Bridges, Nick Richards, and Mark Williams unavailable, which makes it hard to win any night in the NBA.

There can be an argument that some of his rotations that have been questionable at times, but you can't overlook the overall passion and willingness he has to make the Hornets a better basketball team. Listening to Lee coach even gets me out of my seat most times, which surely should encourage the players on the roster. Are things perfect right now? Absolutely not, but that doesn't mean it's time to give up on Lee as head coach of the Charlotte Hornets.

Will the Hornets pursue another center on the free agent market?

I understand the Hornets are limited to just Moussa Diabate and Taj Gibson currently at the center position, but I don't see really anyone the Hornets should pursue in free agency. In all honesty, Richards will most likely be back in two to three weeks or less and Williams should follow suit. With that in mind, I don't see the Hornets pursuing any other free agent centers that remain on the market. Plus, the Hornets have began to see positives from Diabate, which most likely encourages the Hornets management to not pick up the phone to add another center.

Why is Josh Green not having much of an impact?

One of the not-so-great surprises for the Hornets has been Josh Green's inability to impact the game on the stat sheet in his nine appearances. Green has struggled to find his role with the team and hasn't truly had a breakout game. Since he left Dallas, a lot of people including myself believed that a fresh start would open up more opportunities for the 23-year-old, but thsoe haven't come quite yet.

Since it's just nine games, I'm not hitting the panic button quite yet, but it's definitely something for fans to keep an eye on. Green is averaging just 1.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in his last four games, while shooting 10.0% from the field without a single three-point hit.

Which player that is currently healthy do you feel needs to step up the most?

Honestly, it's probably a team effort outside of LaMelo Ball. However, if I were to narrow it to a couple of players, I'd say that Tidjane Salaün, Josh Green, and Brandon Miller have to be better for Charlotte to win basketball games. I understand that is a lot of pressure to put the rookie Salaün since he wasn't projected to play many minutes this season, but if he could get a couple of those three-point shots to start falling, then it could drastically help the Hornets dynamic.

Similar with Josh Green who I previously mentioned, he needs to be more aggressive and look for his shot. Having him in the starting lineup to average just four points, is not going to cut it as it makes it easier for the defenders to focus more on Brandon Miller and LaMelo Ball. Since Miles Bridges is currently unavailable with a knee injury, it means that Miller has to take another step offensievely and be aggressive. Too many times this season it feels like Miller hasn't been confident with his game. If the Hornets want to hang in the playoff race, Miller is going to have to perform like he did at the end of last season, which I'm confident he will.

Do the Hornets have a chance of being over .500 this year?

One of the common questions over the past couple of seasons has been this exactly. The issue with the question is that it has nothing to do with the overall team or how it's built, but rather the injuries that have continuously occurred.

Do I think the Hornets will be over .500 this season? I'd say there's a chance, but that's only if Mark Williams comes back relatively soon and doesn't miss a step, while the other core players stay healthy. Obviously, Ball is most likely going to have to play over 60 plus game if the Hornets want to be anywhere close to .500, as he is easily not only just the team's best player, but also one of the best players in the league this season. This Hornets team healthy has really solid potential, but the question still remains, will the Charlotte Hornets ever be completely healthy again?