NBA Swing: Jordan’s New Buzz Kids & NBA Trade Deadline Takeaways

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As the NBA playoffs draw closer and closer, teams are scrabbling for playoff seeding positioning making last-second acquisitions and decisions that will dictate the rest of the season. This will be the first NBA season featuring the play-in tournament with the 7th through 10th seeded teams. Only three games separate the Eastern Conference’s four through ten seeds.

In the midst of that bubble are the Charlotte Hornets who are currently 23-21, fourth in the Eastern Conference. The Hornets have been nothing short of a jam-packed fun young group to follow on the television all year. Their youth and flashy team play has propelled them to a solid playoff positioning and a foundation they can optimistically build off of for their future.

The Hornets spent their third overall pick at last year’s NBA draft on prodigy point guard LaMelo Ball out of Chino Hills/Australia. The spotlight has been on Melo since he first stepped onto the high school scene as a freshman at Chino Hills. Notoriously known for his volume perimeter shooting, braggadocios, and flamboyant style of play, GMs were for some reason uneasy about taking a gamble on the talented Chino Hills product.

Upon his arrival in Charlotte, Ball was expected to be patient in order to earn consistent playing time, especially behind Charlotte’s plethora of young talented guards (Terry Rozier, Malik Monk, and Devonta Graham). Due to injuries to initial starting guards Rozier and Graham, LaMelo got his opportunity to make an impact from the starting point guard position and did not disappoint. Since cracking the starting lineup, Ball is averaging 19.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 6.2 assists a night on 46.4/42.6/81.1 shooting percentage splits.

Along the way Ball also took home back-to-back Rookie of the Month nods for the months of January and February. According to Stat Muse, LaMelo became the first rookie in NBA history to average 20/6/6 on 40+ 3P% for a month (min 12 games). With Lamelo on the court, especially with his dual-threat ability to facilitate, creating scoring opportunities for both himself and others, it’s something Charlotte hasn’t had for some time now. Ex-Hornet Kemba Walker is one of the best players in the league but outside of scoring the basketball, he doesn’t bring the same all-around ability that Lamelo does. Even when LaMelo isn’t lighting it up scoring-wise, his being able to orchestrate the offense and impact the game in more than one facet is what makes him special. We’ve seen it with the rapport he’s built with third-year forward Miles Bridges on highlight-filled alley oop connections and has had a vast impact on Bridges’ numbers as he’s currently posting career highs in FG%, 3P%, and FT%. LaMelo’s playmaking ability in the pick and roll and on dribble-drive penetrations has allowed other score-first perimeter threats such as Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward, Malik Monk, Devonta Graham to be aggressive scoring the ball. Even after LaMelo’s recent wrist fracture, which was initially going to hold him out the rest of this season, the Hornets have plenty of young guns to share their wealth regardless of when he’ll return.

Terry Rozier grew into a solid rotational NBA point guard off the bench during his first four years as a member of the Boston Celtics. Rozier’s talent was never the question but for someone that spent time backing up Isaiah Thomas, Kyrie Irving, and Marcus Smart, it was always going to be an uphill battle to earn desired starter minutes. Rozier has shown up when it’s mattered most in the postseason as well. Back in 2018, most notably when the Celtics were down Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward due to injuries, it was up to the youth of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Terry Rozier to take on the rest of the powerful Eastern Conference. In the 2018 Eastern Conference first round, Rozier posted 17.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 6.7 assists in the seven-game series vs the Milwaukee Bucks including a game-winning step-back three-point shot on Eric Bledsoe in game one.

The following season, Terry Rozier saw a decrease in playing time and his quality of play took a dip as a result of it. The Celtics, as a whole, were having a roller-coaster season with Kyrie Irving’s media battles, Brad Steven’s rotation adjustments, and lack of team hierarchy, and overall team inconsistency which ultimately defined their disappointing season. After their quick five-game exit to the Bucks, decisions had to be made in the Celtics front office. Irving had made the impression that he would be signing the super-max contract and already behind Smart on the point guard depth chart, Rozier was definitely seeking an expanded role and contract elsewhere.

After the Celtics and Hornets agreed to a sign and trade in order to acquire Kemba Walker, Rozier was given the opportunity he had been seeking his whole career. After averaging an initial career-high 18/4/4 on 40% shooting from the three-point line last year, Rozier came back in his second year as a Hornet posting career highs in points per game (20.5), FG% (47%), 3P% (41%), and FGM (7.2). The Hornets are currently sitting very comfortably in NBA playoff contention and Rozier’s career numbers definitely were warranting him some well-deserved All-Star recognition. Rozier also became the fastest Charlotte Hornet to record 300 3 PM in franchise history (102 games played) surpassing Devonta Graham who reached the milestone in 127 games played.

Gordon Hayward, who inked a four-year/$120 million contract extension with Charlotte this past offseason, has completely looked like the All-Star Hayward we got accustomed to back in Utah. Hayward, who’s currently averaging 19.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists a game, became an undervalued player for the Boston Celtics due to his up and down health. The former NBA All-Star was still a very valuable piece on both sides of the floor in Boston. At times, he could be anywhere from the third scoring option to the fifth or sixth but still having someone of his caliber that can stretch the floor, create for himself and others, provide defensive versatility was what made the Celtics so unique these past couple of years. Now you can see that Boston is looking for someone that can bring something to the table in those following areas outside of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart, thus playing a part in their up and down season as well. With Hayward healthy, he’s the perfect veteran star that can be depended on come postseason.

Malik Monk started off this season seeing almost no playing time under James Borrego after a drug suspension and a COVID-19 case which had cost him training camp. Due to injuries, eventually, it became almost foolish to not utilize someone with the services Monk has and he started playing solid rotational minutes like he had the previous two seasons. The former Kentucky stand out is having the best year of his young career averaging 13.2 points off the bench on 46/41/81 splits in just 21 minutes of play. Monk is capable of lighting up the scoreboard at any moment. His microwave ability brings instant offense to a squad that has plenty of it. Monk’s iso ability, three-point shooting, and athleticism make him a candidate to become one of the future prominent sixth man’s in the NBA.

Devonta Graham was robbed of NBA Most Improved Player award last year. Even though he’s been lost in the shuffle of guards due to the ascendance of both Rozier and Ball, just like Monk, he’s an instant spark off the bench. Despite the slight dip in his stats due to touches Graham is still averaging 13.4 points and shooting 37% from deep. The Hornets may have to pick between Graham and Monk this offseason as they’re both restricted, free agents. The Hornets could use a big upgrade in the frontcourt more so at the center position so we’ll see how their postseason unravels and see if they’ll look to flip some of their underrated assets to bring a more competent presence to the frontcourt.

Nass’ Big Trade Deadline Takeaways

The Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets have taken the biggest leaps post-deadline than any other organization. The Heat acquiring Victor Oladipo is going to improve their already elite two-way identity. Oladipo, who’s been working himself back from a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee, is the perfect co-star alongside the gritty Jimmy Butler. Oladipo has shown flashes of his old self at times but it’s been hard to get a grasp on how close he is to the 2018 version that caught all our eyes when he’s had to adapt to now his third organization. On the bright side for the Heat, both Butler and Oladipo can initiate offense for themselves and others but more importantly, you can have them guard numerous positions. This will be vital come playoff time especially thinking about the Eastern Conference’s well-known perimeter 1-2 punches such as Boston (Tatum/Brown), Brooklyn (Harden/Kyrie/KD), Milwaukee (Middleton/Holiday), Philadelphia (Simmons/Harris). The Miami Heat only gave up Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynk, and the rights to their 2022 first-round swap rights. Miami has upgraded immensely and they’ll make another deep playoff run.

The Denver Nuggets traded for athletic forward Aaron Gordon at the deadline and shockingly are now deeper than ever. Gordon can give the Nuggets the same wrinkle Jerami Grant did last year. Though Grant is the superior player especially defensively, Gordon’s athletic frame will boast a team that’ll be asked to slow down some of the West’s elite offensive forces come playoff time in Kawhi Leonard, Lebron James, Paul George, and Luka Doncic. Gordon, who’s still just 25 years old, will use his young legs to his advantage. Gordon, who’s famously known for his above-the-rim style of play, will thrive off of Nikola Jokic lobs and passes the rest of the year as well. Jokic (8.6 assists a game) mostly operates at the top of the key looking for cutters, kicking it out to shooters on the perimeter such as Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. so Gordon will get his fair share of easy scoring opportunities. Just like the Miami Heat, the Nuggets will look to build off the playoff steam they built last year in hopes of bringing home the Larry O’Brien trophy.