Loss of LaMelo Ball won't upset Hornets upward trajectory
Yahoo Sports NBA contributing writer Tom Haberstroh explains why the Hornets should be as good as they were last year. Check out the full conversation on "The Big Number" and subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube or wherever you listen .
Video Transcript
On my shortlist, but I actually loved another team for their point differential last year, and it's the Charlotte Hornets.
I, I love the Charlotte Hornets- Ooh as an over pick this year.
37.5, I think the Charlotte Hornets, have a really good chance at getting into that 44 win range that they had last year because, again, I think I'm zagging the trade market here.
Jaylen Brown leaving the Celtics, I'm taking the over on the Celtics.
LaMelo Ball gets traded from the Charlotte Hornets, I'm taking the over on the Charlotte Hornets at 37.5.
They won 44 games last year, and I really like Coby White and Naz Reid picking up the slack and getting them over 500 this season.
Last year, they had the differential, point differential, Pythagorean, differential of 53-win team, meaning their point differential suggested they were not a 44-win team, they were actually a 53-win team.
And I just don't think LaMelo Ball is worth 15 wins, meaning their, their projection is at 38 wins essentially.
And they were a 53-win point differential team last year, 15, wins off of that.
I just don't think LaMelo Ball is worth that much to the, to the Charlotte Hornets.
I guess if you look at the, the impact, the e- estimated plus/minus data, it might say that LaMelo Ball is that good at setting up teammates, but I still think that Kon Kniffle, year two after leading the NBA in threes next year, I think he still has, a lot of room to grow as a, as a playmaker, as an on ball guy.
And he was much better than people expected last year.
And then Coby White I think is a stud.
He's one of the four players that ended last season, that are currently on the Charlotte Hornets roster with a plus two in estimated plus/minus.
The, the, dunks and threes metric, projected to be plus two next season on the Charlotte Hornets roster still.
That's Kon Kniffle, that's Brandon Miller, that's Coby White, and Grayson Allen, low-key, elite three-point shooter- Mm-hmm for the Ch- for the Charlotte Hornets gonna be on that list as well.
And they're, if you look at the rest of the NBA, the teams that can boast at least four players that good in EW, estimated plus/minus, there's only five other teams and they're all pretty much title contenders.
So even without LaMelo Ball, they bring in Coby White, at the trade deadline.
They add, Naz Reid, who's fits that profile that Charles Lee really likes of a, a three-point shooting big that they didn't really have last season.
Yeah, they lose Miles Bridges, but I love this roster.
I think Liam McNeely, took a big step forward in Summer League, being on second team, all, Summer League l- this past summer.
Really showed out with his three-point shot, can do a lot of different things.
You got, Ryan Collfrenner coming back.
You got Mousa Diabate filling out the depth there with Naz Reid.
I just think Charles Lee's gonna have a lot of fun with lineups this year.
