PJ Washington leads Charlotte Hornets record-breaking win

With Kemba Walker out and a few new faces in, a new era has begun for the Charlotte Hornets. What can we learn from their season opener?

Like many teams this offseason, the Charlotte Hornets experienced a seismic face lift. Unlike some teams, it was a shift towards the team rebuilding rather than becoming a playoff contender.

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Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb took off for greener pastures while the Hornets pulled in Terry Rozier and drafted PJ Washington. It wasn’t multiple trades like the New Orleans Pelicans pulled off and a majority of the roster remains the same from 2018-19 season, but the team has essentially hit the reset button for the second time this decade.

The Charlotte Hornets got a nice test in their season opener against the Chicago Bulls, another rebuilding team trying to find its identity.

Chicago was down by eight points going into halftime and proceeded to outscore the Hornets 40-33 in third quarter, pulling within one point of the lead. But the Hornets held their own near the end of the game and squeaked out a 126-125 win to kick off the post-Kemba era.

Coach James Borrego indicated during training camp and preseason that the starting lineup could change on nightly basis, but he also wants to develop the youth of this team. It was the youth to the rescue in the season opener — what exactly did we learn about Borrego and some possible tendencies for the rest of the season?