Charlotte Hornets: 3 reasons Devonte’ Graham was a good pick
By Luke Askew
3. The Hornets need a backup point guard
The Charlotte Hornets have desperately needed a backup point guard for quite some time now. During the 2017-18 season, Michael Carter-Williams served as the primary backup 1. No offense to MCW, but the Hornets needed an improvement if they wanted to compete in the playoffs.
Let’s take a look at some notable backup point guards from successful teams last season.
Fred VanVleet was among the league’s best, averaging 8.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game while serving as the primary backup to starting point guard, Kyle Lowry. The Raptors finished with the best record in the East.
The Rockets had an interesting situation with their point guard rotation. They didn’t have a primary backup point guard because they managed the minutes of Chris Paul and James Harden well enough so one of them was almost always on the floor. The Rockets finished with the best record in the West.
Now let’s take a look at the NBA champions, the Golden State Warriors. Shaun Livingston has been one of the best backup point guards in the league for the last few seasons. He doesn’t have the gaudiest stats (5.5 points and 2.0 assists per game) but he does the things that don’t show up in the box score. He has a high basketball IQ and consistently makes the right play. If you watched the Warriors’ title run, you know how valuable Shaun Livingston is to that team.
Devonte’ Graham can finally be that backup point guard that the Hornets desperately need to take pressure off of Kemba Walker. He’s a much better ball-handler than Malik Monk and a much better scorer than MCW. He should be able to step in right away and give them valuable bench minutes.