Why Do the Hornets Struggle Without Gordon Hayward? James Borrego Explains
Following Wednesday night's game against the Chicago Bulls, the Hornets dropped to 28-28 on the season, picking up their sixth straight loss. Although things should get a little easier for them on Friday against the Pistons, the road ahead still remains a challenge. Even more so if Gordon Hayward is sidelined for an extended period of time.
Hayward is now in his second season with the organization and at the time of his signing, a lot of people thought the Hornets were throwing $120 million down the drain at an aging veteran who can't seem to stay healthy. I, too, thought it was a bit much but they had to throw money at someone, especially a veteran that could help the younger players during the rebuild.
Since arriving is Charlotte, Hayward has missed a total of 36 games. In those games, the Hornets have an 11-25 record, including a 2-6 mark this season. What is odd about the situation is it's not like Hayward is a game-changer, so you would think the record wouldn't be as bad as it has been without him. He may not average 25 a game and be the go-to guy for this team, but he is without a doubt the glue guy. When he is not on the court, the Hornets just aren't as good. A lot of that has to do with the veteran presence he brings to the table but with as much as this team likes to spread teams out and shoot the three-ball, it opens up space in the mid-range for Hayward where he is often dangerous. Without him, the mid-range offense goes away, the inside offense is even more non-existent, and you start seeing threes being missed at an alarming rate.
After the loss to the Bulls, I asked head coach James Borrego why he believes the team's struggles are as bad as they are when he's not available.
"There's a number of things. I think big picture, he's just a steady presence out there for us. When there is a drought, when things are a little chaotic he can settle us down. He makes high quality decisions. That's the best thing I can say about him," Borrego said. "You take him off the floor, you're bringing in even more youth and inexperience into the equation and that highlights a little bit of our inexperience. And that's okay, that's just where we're at. When we get out of sorts a little bit offensively, we can put the ball in his hands and just settle the gym. And I've said this before, but teams would have to take one of their best defenders and put them on Gordon. That eliminates one of those guys going to Melo, to Terry, to Kelly. That pulls and stretches their defense a little bit. This is just a great opportunity for some growth here. As I've said the last couple days, we found Miles through this process. When you're going through it and other guys have to step up we're going to find some good, some growth. I liked Nick Richards today. There was a lot of positives from Nick tonight. I thought he impacted that game. That could be a bright spot for us through this patch. I do believe good will come of this."
Hayward's name will always pop up in trade rumors, especially when it involves a possible deal with the Indiana Pacers but I just don't see GM Mitch Kupchak willing to deal him anytime soon. This team has a lot of growing up to do and until guys like LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges start reaching their full potential, it does the Hornets no good to move off of Hayward.
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