Charlotte Hornets: Should P.J. Hairston Get More Minutes?
By Evan Massey
Should the Charlotte Hornets look to get rookie P.J. Hairston more playing time moving forward?
The Charlotte Hornets selected P.J. Hairston with the 26th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, and are very excited about his potential for the future. He is a very good shooter, and has solid athletic ability. Many are questioning whether or not the Hornets should be giving him all of the minutes over Gerald Henderson due to the struggles that Henderson has had this season.
Charlotte has gotten off to a bit of a slow start this season at 3-4, and one of their main issues has been poor perimeter shooting at just 29.0 percent.
Hairston might not be the most talented player on their roster, but he is one of the best perimeter shooters that they have on their roster. He has struggled a bit early on in the season to find his shot, but getting him playing time and experience is the only way that he will be able to reach his potential and become the player that the Hornets expect him to be.
Through his first four career NBA games in 13.0 minutes per game, Hairston has averaged 4.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. At 6’6″ and 230 pounds, he would be more than capable of playing the small forward position or shooting guard if the Hornets needed him at either spot. Henderson hasn’t played much better, and giving the rookie more playing time might be in the Hornets’ best interest.
At just 21 years of age, it’s difficult for any rookie to come into the NBA and put up big numbers in his first four games. Hairston will continue to grow as he gets more playing time and the chance to work on his game against real competition, and the Hornets have a need that he could fill if he’s able to play to his full potential.
There are plenty of needs for the Hornets, but finding another legitimate wing scorer and shooter is likely their biggest need. They have a player talented enough to take on that type of role, but they have to give him the minutes and work with him to get him there. Hairston has proven in the past that he is capable of scoring in bunches, and he’ll be able to do just that in the NBA once he gets his legs underneath him and figures out the speed of the game.
All that being said, the answer to the question is that the Hornets definitely need to find more minutes for Hairston. Whether he takes more of Henderson’s minutes or even cuts into Lance Stephenson‘s minutes early on in the game, they need to find a way for him to get on the floor more.
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If the Hornets want to live up to their potential and become a true contender in the Eastern Conference, they are going to need their rookie to be that wing scorer that they drafted him to be. Hairston has all of the talent in the world to become a legitimate scorer off the bench this year, but not player can be a big piece to a teams puzzle without getting playing time.
Expect to see the Hornets begin working Hairston into the rotation a bit more over the next few weeks, and for him to begin playing better basketball as he continues to get more experience.