Charlotte’s role players step up, Chicago needs more from Patrick Williams, and Cleveland’s hot shooting.
Charlotte Hornets
Dennis Smith Jr., Nick Richards, and Theo Maledon have been bright spots for the 3-7 Hornets. Unfortunately for Smith, he just sprained his left ankle. But he was playing great before getting hurt, averaging 10.4 PPG/3.8 RPG/5.8 APG/2.1 SPG/48.4% FG and finally finding his three-point shot (42.9% 3-PT). As for Richards & Maledon, both needed to step up this season and have done that so far (Richards- 10.2 PPG/6.9 RPG/1.1 APG/58.7% FG/71.8% FT, Maledon- 5.0 PPG/1.8 RPG/ 2.7 APG/50.0% FG/37.5% 3-PT). Nick will be a free agent when the summer hits, and Theo was waived by the Rockets after being traded from the Thunder in October.
Chicago Bulls
As much as I love the way Chicago plays on offense/Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, and Ayo Dosunmu defend, Patrick Williams will determine how far this team goes defensively. Even when Ball comes back, he’s still just a guard, and so are Caruso & Dosunmu. While Williams can defend both forward positions at 6-7 with a 7 foot wingspan. He’s definitely had his questionable moments on that end guarding some of the league’s best since entering the league in 2020. So I hope he can bring more toughness on defense going forward.
Cleveland Cavaliers
For someone who had questions about the Cavaliers’ wing defense going into the season, it’s safe to say I still have those questions. The main reason I say this is because they’re shooting 40.6% from three-point land (2nd best in the NBA). I’ll get a better feel once the high scoring shootouts stop.
*Cleveland has 6 players shooting over 38.0% from deep*
Dean Wade: 50.0% 3-PT
Caris LeVert: 45.5% 3-PT
Kevin Love: 43.8% 3-PT
Donovan Mitchell: 43.8% 3-PT
Darius Garland: 41.7% 3-PT
Cedi Osman: 38.5% 3-PT
