Training Camp | Terry Rozier One-On-One - 9/27/22
A driving force behind the Charlotte Hornets’ 2022-23 season will be the play of their starting backcourt. Fortunately, this particular unit – led by NBA All-Star LaMelo Ball and an elite two-way sharpshooter in Terry Rozier – is one of the better ones in the league and up to the task.
Expectations were sky-high last season for Ball after winning Rookie of the Year and he fully delivered and then some in Year #2. His seasonal numbers spiked in points (20.1), rebounds (6.7), assists (7.6), 3-point percentage (38.9%), 3-pointers made (220) and free-throw percentage (87.2%), culminating in an NBA All-Star Game appearance along the way.
There’s a number of advanced skillsets that Ball has already showcased since roaring onto the NBA scene less than two years ago. Undoubtedly though, it’s his court vision and highlight-reel passing that really sets him apart from other point guards.
Having just turned 21 years old, Ball is still developing physically, which should help him better absorb contact driving to the rim in the coming years. He mentioned at Media Day on Monday that he’s been working with a former NBA rules official to find ways to bump up his 3.2 free-throw attempts per game and capitalize more on an 87.2% efficiency from the line.
Rozier was right behind Ball in the Hornets’ scoring department (19.3 points), while averaging a career-high 4.5 assists and tying a career high with 222 3-pointers made. Since arriving in Charlotte, Rozier’s been a model of consistency, toughness and adaptability. He’s a nightly 20-point-per-game scorer, arguably the team’s best pound-for-pound rebounder, an improved facilitator and a competitor that’s missed an average of only 4.6 games the past three years.
Ball and Rozier were the only NBA teammates to each tally at least 220 makes from long distance last season, doing so on a crisp 38.2% shooting (442-of-1158). These two have proven to complement each other extremely well and that chemistry should only continue to strengthen heading into their third season partnered in the backcourt together.
“We’re two guys that want to play fast, that can score the ball, can pass,” said Rozier. “We can be flashy, we can just give you anything you need on any given night. I love playing with Melo. We play off each other and just go from there. It’s a lot of fun.”
Cody Martin was one of the first players off the Hornets’ bench last season and presumably, that’s where he’ll be slotted again, at least for the time being. He averaged career highs in points (7.7), rebounds (4.0), assists (2.5), steals (1.2) and blocks (0.5) in the 2021-22 campaign, earning himself a well-deserved extension for his efforts. Where Martin made the most improvement was with his 3-point shooting – he shot 38.4% from behind the line on 2.2 attempts per game after posting a 25.2% mark over his first two seasons in the league.
James Bouknight will be looking to make a jump of his own in his second NBA season following an up-and-down rookie year. And just a few days ago, the Hornets officially added Fayetteville native Dennis Smith Jr. to the mix. An uber-explosive athlete taken ninth overall by Dallas in 2017, Smith has bounced around the league the past few seasons and offers intriguing upside as more of a drive-and-kick, on-ball defender option in Charlotte.
“I’m excited to be able to join these guys,” said Smith. “This was my favorite team to watch last year. Over my professional career, I’ve become a lot better on the defensive end. That’s definitely something I want to bring to this team. This is the first time I feel like a team has been like, ‘Let’s develop Dennis Smith Jr.’ The talks I’ve been having with the staff have been encouraging for me, so I definitely have something to believe in and look forward to.”
Perhaps the biggest question with regards to the Hornets’ backcourt (at least to start) is where does Bouknight factor in? Walled off from regular rotational minutes as a rookie behind Rozier, Martin and Kelly Oubre Jr., he showed flashes at times last year – 4.6 points on 34.8% shooting over 31 games – and now, should be better positioned to offer more outside of just scoring.
“I just want to come in and be able to earn all my minutes and everything I get,” said Bouknight on Media Day. “I’m not really expecting anything. I’m just going to prove myself in Training Camp and go from there. I wasn’t able to play in Summer League [because of hand surgery], but I was out in Vegas with the team the whole time. Every morning, I had film with Coach Clifford at 8 AM. We talked about what’s going to be expected of me, what my role is going to be.”
The talent is there for Bouknight and there are some encouraging numbers to work with. He shot a steady 34.8% from 3-point range (17-of-49) and 87.1% from the line (27-of-31), good indicators that his mechanics are fairly workable. Across seven G League outings, he averaged 21.4 points on 44.8% shooting, 5.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.9 steals.
At the moment, there is no clear-cut backup point guard on the roster. One option is staggering Rozier into the second unit again, something that happened a lot last season, but ultimately wasn’t really sustainable in the later months of the schedule. Perhaps Clifford anoints one of Martin, Bouknight or Smith to run point in the second unit. Of the three though, Smith is the only with extensive experience playing this position at the NBA level.
The Ball-Rozier backcourt duo is the engine for this Charlotte team and behind these two are an intriguing trio of guards in Martin, Bouknight and Smith, all of whom bring something different to the table in this Hornets’ rotation.