Charlotte Hornets: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Must Come Through
By Evan Massey
The Charlotte Hornets are hoping to take the next step in 2014-15 after making the playoffs last season. They were able to sign Al Jefferson last offseason, and he had a huge impact on them last year and is primed to have yet another big season this year.
Charlotte also will have one of the more talented back-court tandems in the league with both Lance Stephenson and Kemba Walker playing alongside each other.
Michael Jordan has finally put together a team that can compete in the Eastern Conference, and the signing of Stephenson might end up being one of the best moves of the offseason. Charlotte doesn’t necessarily have the best depth, but they do have some young talent and veteran mixture.
One player that will need to step up in a big way this season is small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
Charlotte selected Kidd-Gilchrist with the second overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, but he has already been labeled as a bust. He has been unable to figure out an offensive game, which has been extremely difficult for fans and the team as a whole to watch.
His defense has been solid, but one-dimensional players aren’t too terribly useful, especially when their offense is literally non-existent.
Last season with the Hornets, Kidd-Gilchrist ended up playing in and starting 62 regular season games. He sat out a good chunk of games due to an injury, but ended up averaging 7.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Those numbers simply aren’t good enough for a player that is in the starting lineup.
If the Hornets want to realize their full potential and make another run at the playoffs, they are going to need Kidd-Gilchrist to come through in a big way.
Kidd-Gilchrist has been working on his offensive game all season long, and there are hopes that he can figure things out and get some sort of offensive game going this season. He is decent at getting to the rim, but he needs to figure out how to finish strong through contact. Developing a mid-range game would also be big for him, and his three-point shot likely won’t ever become something that he can rely on with any type of consistency.
His defensive ability will keep getting him some minutes on the court, and he needs to continue giving everything that he has against opposing scorers. There is no doubt that the Hornets will need his defense at times this year against players like LeBron James, but developing an offensive game will up his minutes in a fairly big way. It’s going to take a lot of work, but he has to figure out how to make it happen.
All of that being said, simply becoming a better slasher to the rim might be enough to help him become somewhat of a threat on the offensive side of the ball. Both Walker and Stephenson are more than capable of making plays with the basketball in their hands, and that will be a major help for Kidd-Gilchrist. He needs to focus on making strong cuts and finishing at the rim and from short mid-range.
It’s going to be a very intriguing season to watch the Hornets this year, and Kidd-Gilchrist will be interesting to watch as well. His hard work this offseason has been noticed, but he’ll need to prove it on the court before teams begin respecting him on the offensive end of the court.
Charlotte is hoping that he can figure things out, and chip in at least a consistent nine or 10 points per game.