Inside The Numbers
By Joshua Riddell
Last year, the Charlotte Hornets
were the worst 3-point shooting team
in the NBA, which isn’t a surprise
considering they employed one
wing (Michael Kidd-Gilchrist) who’d
abandoned the shot entirely, and
another (Lance Stephenson) who put
together the worst shooting season in
history.
an Oklahoma City Thunder team
that gave previous few development
minutes while in win-now mode.
In limited opportunies, Lamb
often looked lost, posting a -10 net
rating according to 82games.com.
But without extended game-time
development minutes, it’s hard for
any player to flourish.
Moving to Charlotte gives him a
new lease on his NBA life, rejoining
Walker, his college running mate.
Lamb projects as a complementary
3-point shooter (34.8 percent)
in a full-time role, but has some
intriguing secondary skills. His most
Through the preseason the
used play type last season was s a ball
Hornets are letting 3-pointers fly
handler in pick and rolls, where he
between Nicolas Batum, Jeremy Lin,
showed an ability to get to the rim
Cody Zeller, Frank Kaminsky, Kemba
and finish at a 75 percent clip within
Walker, Marvin Williams, Spencer
three feet per Basketball-Reference.
Hawes, and Jeremy Lamb. Lamb in
It will be up to Charlotte to parse out
particular represents the type of lowhow much of this was due to lack of
investment gambles teams like the
quality competition in garbage time,
Hornets need to hit on.
what might translate against starters,
and the right balance of usage.
Drafted no. 12 in 2012, Lamb
struggled to get playing time on
In Kidd-Gilchrist’s absence, there
With Kidd-Gilchrist out, the
Hornets will have to generate more
scoring punch, something a shift in
philosophies and personnel seems
willing to accommodate through the
preseason.
are minutes to be had for Lamb at
shooting guard, where he can spot
up around Al Jefferson post-ups
and Walker pick and rolls in the
first unit, or as a secondary scorer
and playmaker off the bench in a
larger role. Lamb is still just 23, and
hopefully reuniting with Walker
and his impending restricted free
agency might light a fire under him—
recalibrating his level of play to the
intensity levels needed to succeed at
both ends of the floor in the NBA.
As shot profiles continue to trend
towards one extreme or another,
the value of players like Jefferson or
Walker (at his best) is their ability
to create plays from inefficient areas
of the court, such as in the post
or midrange; theoretically forcing
defenses to rotate away from the
rim or corner 3-point shooters.
Surrounding such talents with
role players who thrive in limited
opportunities from more efficient
areas of the court help offset the
volume of shots their high-usage
teammates generate.
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