The Charlotte Hornets have done well in the NBA pre-season games and if the team can bring the same level of energy and enthusiasm and offensive mindset onto the regular NBA season games starting next week, the squad will be an automatic playoff contender in the Eastern Conference.
Apparently, the team’s off-season acquisitions have greatly improved its chances for a playoff hunt in the upcoming 2015-16 NBA season.
After acquiring Jeremy Lin from the free agency, the Charlotte Hornets also got the talented small forward Nicolas Batum from the Portland Trailblazers by trading Gerald Henderson and Noah Vonleh.
In addition to Batum and Lin, the Charlotte Hornets also acquired during the off-season Spencer Hawes from the Los Angeles Clippers by trading Lance Stephenson. They have also drafted Frank Kaminsky.
It seems that the off-season moves by the Hornets are paying off since three of these four acquisitions have led the team in scoring and victories in half of their pre-season games.
Of the Hornets eight pre-season games, they posted a 7-1 win-loss record, losing its final game to the Indiana Pacers on October 22, 98-86.
Jeremy Lin led the scoring in two of those eight games, one of which is against the Los Angeles Clippers held in Shenzhen Universiade Center in Shenzhen, China.
Nicolas Batum paced scoring for the Hornets in their victory against the Detroit Pistons on October 21 while Frank Kaminsky led the team in points scored in their loss to the Pacers.
Getting along well
When the Hornets acquired Jeremy Lin from the free agency, the team intended him to serve as a backup to point guard Kemba Walker since they both have similar skill sets.
However, there have been reports that Hornets head coach Steve Clifford is also considering of playing them together and turn the team into a run-and-gun squad and give it plenty of options on offense.
It seems that the idea is not a problem at all to both players as according to Jeremy Lin, he and Kemba Walker are getting along well off the court.
The 27-year-old Harvard graduate says that he is impressed with who Kemba is as a person and how down-to-earth and humble the Hornets starting point guard is. Lin said that he loves playing with Kemba and he hopes that they can bring their chemistry off court onto the court if given the chance, notes Fox Sports.
For his part, Kemba says having Jeremy playing alongside with him takes a lot of pressure off himself as the team’s main point guard. Kemba said that when Jeremy is out on the court with him, he gets help with setting the pace and the tempo of the game. He also says that Lin is very unselfish and he can also score very well. He said it is going to be a fun season for the Hornets.
A scoring option
Not counting the last pre-season game of the Hornets against the Indiana Pacers, Jeremy Lin was averaging 15.33 points per game in the first seven pre-season games of the Charlotte Hornets, all victories.
Apart from scoring, Jeremy Lin has also shown other aspects of his game during the NBA pre-season games, posting impressive highs of eight rebounds against the Chicago Bulls and seven assists against the Orlando Magic, notes the Christian Today.
Charlotte Hornets team owner Michael Jordan believes that Jeremy Lin is his team’s biggest acquisition for the upcoming NBA season.
Jordan believes that signing up Jeremy Lin from the free agency was a very successful deal because the 27-year-old Harvard graduate can penetrate, has the shooting ability, a point guard savvy, capable of passing the ball, and has a great energy for the game of basketball.
While Batum is the overall better player among the four newbies who joined the Hornets this season, Lin, because of his popularity in Asia, has instantly made the Hornets a very popular team in countries like China and Taiwan.