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Born (Again) Ready: Lance Stephenson Ready for a Reboot in Los Angeles

By Ben Gibson

Mar 1, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Lance Stephenson (1) looks on against the Orlando Magic during the second half at Amway Center. Charlotte Hornets defeated the Orlando Magic 98-83. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 1, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Lance Stephenson (1) looks on against the Orlando Magic during the second half at Amway Center. Charlotte Hornets defeated the Orlando Magic 98-83. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sometimes the sequel isn’t as good as the original and such was the case with Lance Stephenson and the Charlotte Hornets.

After leaving the Indiana Pacers a year ago his career took a nose dive in Charlotte. While he made nearly half of his shots as a starter with the Pacers, with the Hornets he shot a career-low 37.6% from the field, over a 10 percent drop from his near all-star performance in Indiana. He had the worst 3-point shooting percentage ever for players that took at least 100 attempts to compound his struggles and put a nice bow on a terrible season. His style of play just wasn’t conducive to a good offense in Charlotte’s system and he never found a role that worked for him or the team.

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Not having a defined role might have been Stephenson’s biggest issue in Charlotte. With the Pacers he was a complementary player as a starter and wasn’t expected to carry the weight of the offense from night to night. But what made things work so well was that coach Frank Vogel pulled him first and sent him back in later with the reserves. While most of the starters were resting Stephenson was allowed to play in his peak form as a ball-dominant, herky-jerky, force of nature.

Lance controlled the second unit and with as bad as the bench was in Indiana two seasons ago it was sensible that he was the driving force and the most active shooter. Both with the starters and with the reserves it wasn’t as if never passed the ball. He averaged 4.6 assists a game in the 2013-14 season as he was smart enough to know when to make the pass and when to go 1-on-5. In a very good way, he played with reckless abandon and charged into the teeth of the defense when the time was right.

And this is why he’s got a good chance of bouncing back with the Los Angeles Clippers. He doesn’t have to be a major contributor with his new team, much less a statistical leader among the starters. The Clippers have made a few changes, but they’re bringing back several members of last year’s 29th ranked bench. Along with Stephenson, it looks like the bench players for Los Angeles have a fighting chance this season whereas last season the plan was to hurry them off the court as quickly as possible. When you look at the most used line-ups from last season you’ll find the Clippers’ starters at the very top. This season they’ll get a chance to rest, and while they do Stephenson will get time to shine.

Steve Clifford tried to bring Stephenson off the bench in Charlotte, but it seemed like it was too late to reclaim any the shooting guard’s confidence or faith in the franchise. While he’ll have to share the ball in Los Angeles, he won’t be beholden to a fellow starter that the team sees as the focus of their franchise. Lance wasn’t walking in the door in Charlotte and being handed the team; it was expected he’d adapt and that never happened. He’s isn’t getting the keys to the car from Doc Rivers, but he’s at least getting to drive to school and back with his new team.

Stephenson looks to be in a situation where when he has the hot hand he’s going to see the ball more. That’s much closer to what he had in Indiana and he’ll be playing for a coach that’s had more than one reclamation project success in the past. There have been several misses so far in Los Angeles for Rivers but Stephenson is a player who should be peaking in his career, unlike the older or less adaptable players the Clippers tried to utilize last year.

There are no guarantees but it seems highly unlikely that the 24-year-old has already seen his best days as a player. He wanted to bet on himself and prove he was an All-Star level talent in Charlotte, but that didn’t happen. Everything went wrong from the start and Stephenson never found himself in the same situation that had made him such a success in Indiana.

As long as Doc Rivers gives Stephenson the green light from time to time, I believe we’ll see Born Ready’s rebirth in Los Angeles.

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