Charlotte Hornets: 5 big goals for the 2018-19 NBA season

5. Find the right frontcourt duo

While the Charlotte Hornets didn’t seem to care for Dwight Howard’s character in the locker room, there’s no doubting his impact on the court as he helped the Hornets to the third-best mark in the NBA in rebounds per game last season.

However, Willy Hernangomez may be the best replacement. While he played in very limited minutes with the Hornets last season, his 23.0 total rebounding percentage was on par with Howard’s mark (22.0 percent). Howard’s percentage was the ninth best in the league while Hernangomez finished 14th in the league with his combined 20.1 percentage with both the New York Knicks and Hornets.

Challenging Hernagomez at center will be Bismack Biyombo, who the Hornets brought back via trade, and Cody Zeller, who is returning from his knee injury. It’s hard to imagine Biyombo being paired on the court with Willy as they both would play under the basket, but Zeller has a decent mid-range game that could balance out with Hernangomez or Biyombo on the court.

Herenangomez paired well with Marvin Williams in limited minutes last year. On a per game basis, their 2-man lineup had the best Plus/Minus for the Hornets according to NBA.com. Granted, that was just in 6 games together, but Williams is another solid perimeter threat for the Hornets.

Frank Kaminsky should be in the mix as well and Miles Bridges may even find a spot in small-ball lineups. James Borrego has a tough decision on his hands, but however he sets up his frontcourt on a nightly basis could drastically alter the rest of his starting lineup.