Are the Charlotte Hornets Better Without Lance Stephenson?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past few weeks, you’ve certainly heard the rumors swirling through Charlotte about Lance Stephenson. The volatile shooting guard has been at the forefront of the Charlotte Hornets’ struggles, and has been publicly placed on the trading block as a result.
After leading the league in triple-doubles last season, Stephenson has taken a major step back. As a result, the Hornets have taken a step back as well.
Last season, the Hornets made a surprising playoff appearance with a record of 43-39. It was only the second playoff appearance for the new franchise, and led to high expectations for the 2014-2015 season. Those expectations were inflated even more after Lance Stephenson was signed to a three-year contract.
Alas, no matter how good a team looks on paper, you still have to play the games. Hornets fans are currently wishing that was not true.
Charlotte is currently sitting in last place of the Southeast Division with an 8-19 record, and are 12th in the Eastern Conference. Astonishingly, they’re only 3.5 games back of eighth place and another postseason appearance. Gotta love the Eastern Conference.
This means they need to start winning, and they need to start winning right now. To that point, the Hornets have actually strung together two straight victories over the weekend and are looking to ride that momentum through the end of the year.
So what has been the difference during the two wins? Well, there’s been one noticeable difference; no Lance Stephenson. He has been sidelined for the past two games with a groin injury and is expected to be out at least through Christmas.
During those two games, the Hornets’ offense has looked significantly more fluid and the defense has looked more like a unit than in games past. Basically, the team looks like it has played with more chemistry.
Wait, what was the knock on Stephenson before the Hornets signed him? He can disrupt team chemistry? Hmm…
So, is Lance Stephenson’s absence why the Hornets have looked better? No.
The level of competition has taken a major dip during the last two games. On Friday night, the Hornets took on a nearly-historically bad Philadelphia 76ers team and followed that up with a game against the lowly Utah Jazz. Those two teams’ records combined barely reaches a double-digit win total.
That being said, there’s no such thing as an easy win in professional sports, and the Hornets actually did what they were supposed to – blow them out. They won both games by 18 points, respectively.
These kinds of games can go a long way, however, for a team in terms of building confidence. Charlotte started out with an absolutely brutal schedule, and a lot of their losses are to tough Western Conference opponents. Losing can be contagious, so that certainly didn’t help the rest of their games. But, winning is also contagious, so the Hornets can use this momentum.
The Charlotte Hornets will look to take advantage of their upcoming schedule, as their next five games are as follows: Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic and the Bucks again. They could realistically come out of that stretch with a 4-1 record. That would give them six victories in seven games, and all of a sudden things look more promising at 12-20.
While I don’t think Stephenson’s absence is the difference, the next few games will really tell the story. If the Hornets go undefeated without him, we may be having a different conversation.