Charlotte Hornets: Can Lance Stephenson Serve As Backup PG?

By Chris Piemonte | Feb 2, 2015

Jan 28, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; Charlotte Hornets shooting guard Lance Stephenson (1) shoots the ball against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /

The Charlotte Hornets dismantled the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night despite not having their point guard, Kemba Walker.

While many may have changed the channel once the game was decided, those that stayed probably noticed something very interesting: Lance Stephenson looked a lot like a serviceable backup point guard. This could prove to be important, as the Hornets are currently in a state of flux when it comes to that position.

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Former backup, Brian Roberts, has assumed the starting role, but third-stringer, Jannero Pargo, is still sidelined with an injury. This has led to head coach, Steve Clifford, using a combination of shooting guards, Gary Neal and Lance Stephenson, to run the second unit.

Clifford has said that Neal would handle the primary backup role, but after Saturday night, that just might change.

Lance Stephenson came in and immediately began looking to get his teammates involved. As a result, he tallied a career-high 13 assists. In fact, he was a major reason why Cody Zeller was able to score 14 first quarter points, as he enabled the second-year power forward to get some easy baskets.

One could make the argument that Stephenson running the point makes more sense anyway.

Up until he started driving the lane this season, Gary Neal has been primarily a spot-up shooter his entire career. To ask him to come in and run the offense not only puts you at risk, but it severely limits what you can do as a unit, since the plays will have to be kept relatively simple.

Lance Stephenson, on the other hand, has been a creative ball-handler for most of his career.

Since his shooting percentage has been extremely low this season (37 percent) he has transitioned his game and is making a concerted effort to contribute in other ways, such as assists and rebounds. As a result, he’s been averaging nearly six assists and four rebounds per game since returning from injury.

Being able to turn to Lance would actually provide a much bigger boost for the Hornets than just on the court.

In an extremely soft Eastern Conference where tanking just might be impossible, it makes no sense for Charlotte to do anything other than go after a playoff run. However, for that to happen, they have to have a playmaker running the second unit.

There were talks of Charlotte acquiring an additional guard via trade, with Sacramento’s Ramon Sessions and Miami’s Norris Cole at the forefront. Having a true point guard has its advantages, but trading for one requires giving something up.

With such a young roster, giving something up in order to win now would likely mean sacrificing something in the future. It would be hard to watch a team that has patiently gained young, promising players over time squander those guys over a small chance at mild success.

If Stephenson can fill that role, it would allow the Hornets to keep all of their assets.

Also, allowing Lance Stephenson to thrive in a specific role could really help him get back to his old form. Let’s not forget, just a season ago, he led the league in triple-doubles.

It’s important not to take too much away from a game like the Hornets’ blow-out win in Denver, but we can certainly look for things to build off of.

The Hornets will square off with the Washington Wizards tonight, so be sure to pay close attention to how Lance Stephenson handles the backup point guard role. If he succeeds the way he did in Denver, we just might be on to something.

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