Can the Charlotte Hornets bounce back from living in the NBA's basement for over a decade? This recent stretch that they're on seems to suggest they can, but a lot of their success lies on the coach.
The role of “head coach” in sports is drastically different than the time when our grandparents were fans.
From assuming an Army-general-like role and drawing up X’s and O’s, coaches these days have to adapt to the changes of the younger generation.
Instead of being a drill sergeant, the head coach plays more of a “Human Resources” role where they need to understand their players personalities and balance out their larger-than-life lifestyles.
Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee has been at the center of the team’s resurgence and the fanbase still seems a bit torn on him.
But it’s not just the fanbase. Lee has taken on criticism from media personalities, and even current players like longtime veteran Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
For the most part, it seems to be circled around how Lee has handled and managed the role of his superstar, LaMelo Ball.
The oft-injured Ball was swimming in rocky waters to the point where Hornets brass were possibly looking to move him in the offseason.
Then a report surfaced in December that Ball had requested a trade due to his frustrations with the direction of the team. Quickly after the report, Ball refuted it in his own trademarked way.
In basketball, as the old cliche goes, “your best ability is your availability,” and Ball, with all the talent in the world, was not available in his first five years of his career.
He won the Rookie of the Year in his first season after only playing 51 games and then ramped up his playing time to play 75 games and earned an All Star Game appearance. But shortly after that, the injuries were piling like a short stack at iHop.
It’s been five years since his All Star appearance, and he hasn’t played more than 47 games in a season, suffering the same injuries over and over again whether it be a wrist, a foot, or a knee.
To counter that trend, Lee made a bold move to let Ball come off the bench on the backend of a back-to-back to, in his words, be able to utilize him more in the fourth quarter. He even stated that Ball was on board with the idea.
So why the vitriol from outside voices?
It could partially be due to the frustration of Ball’s inability to stay on the floor. The media and fans want to see Ball succeed, and it’s possible that the frustration was building.
But what matters most is what happens inside the team’s walls right?
NBA insider Sam Vecenie seemed to offer high praise for Lee this week – a different tune from what we have heard over the past few weeks.
I think Charles Lee's really good. Based on what I've seen this year, that dude's a good coach. I would be very happy if I was a Charlotte Hornets fan that I feel like I have the coach that might be able to help me get there long term."
Then proceeded to offer some statistics, proving why the Hornets may be closer than most believe.
“Against the top 10 teams in the league, Charlotte's 4-8 this year. They have the 27th-best offense in those games and the 4th-rated defense... nobody is beating the Vegas spread when they play top-10 teams more than Charlotte is right now... they are closer than people think to being quite good."
Statements like these are the polar opposite of what we’re used to hearing in regards to this team. It always felt like the Hornets were in a state of despair, throwing a bunch of players on a wall and hoping that it would stick.
However, it seems like general manager Jeff Peterson has carefully crafted this roster with a real belief that this team has a chance to make some serious noise for years to come.
And for Lee? It’s hard to imagine with this stretch of four wins in the past five games is hurtful to his standing with the team.
In fact, it just may only be the beginning of a prosperous future.
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