Three goals for the upcoming season

1. Reach the Playoffs

After two years out of the postseason, Charlotte hopes they can make it back this season. Right now I project them as the ninth seed in the east, so it’s about a coin flip if they make it. A lot has to go right. First is health especially to Cody Zeller. Zeller has long been vital to Charlotte’s success, but he has to show he can stay healthy. Then all the young guys and the rookies need to take strides and show they can be consistent positive players on the court. Finally, there is Nicholas Batum, who is a key player for the Hornets but needs to bounce back from a poor season.

2. Batum bounces back

In the preseason last year, Batum tore his UCL ligament in his elbow, causing him to miss the first few weeks of the season. Batum wasn’t the same for a while after he came back, as his shooting numbers and defense greatly suffered. The question is how much of it was the injury and how much was Batum aging? Borrego hopes he can rejuvenate Batum by first getting him 100% healthy and secondly by moving him back from shooting guard to small forward.

At small forward his slightly below average three-point shot won’t be as much of an issue. On defense, he won’t have to guard quicker guards, something he struggles with. Batum’s best season as a Hornet was his first when he was at the small forward spot. Charlotte is counting on a bounce-back season, as Batum is untradeable with his massive contract. On the court, they need him as he is the best passer on the team.

3.Improving in crunch time

The last two years have been brutal for the Hornets in close games. In the past two years, the Hornets have been 15-26 in games decided by five points or less. One of the main problems has been no one can get their shot off except for Kemba. This leads to team defenses loading up on Kemba, making someone else hit the big shot and no one else can.

The hope is there Malik Monk can develop into the secondary scorer that can take the burden off of Kemba in crunch time. Also, perhaps Borrego can help in this department with more creative play calls and lineups in crunch time. This was one of Clifford’s weaknesses. Even becoming average in crunch time would go a long way in deciding if Charlotte makes the playoffs.

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