In adding LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward to the roster, the Charlotte Hornets not only added two talented players but two top playmakers. Integrating them into a roster almost entirely returning from the year prior was the main challenge for head coach James Borrego.
After having a trio of players with at least 50 games played and a usage rate above 22% on last season’s roster, adding two high-usage playmakers to the offense required creativity. Borrego’s solution to that complicated equation in recent weeks has been to use the pairing together as part of ultra small ball lineups.
That solution has partially come out of necessity with the Hornets thin at the center spot even before Cody Zeller’s injury kept him out through the opening weeks of the season. Hayward, as a result, has played in some new roles this season where he has found varied success.
One of the more intriguing ways Hayward has been deployed this season is as a screen setter in pick-and-roll situations. Most often, Hayward has been setting screens for Ball. For Borrego, it’s a way to put two of his best players in a position to succeed.
“It’s putting two players in a position to make plays,” he said. “I trust those guys. We give them certain sets to play out of and they make good reads and they make it tough on the defense. There’s a number of sets we go to now. It’s something we’ve liked over the last few games, and we’ll continue to go to it.”
“I think it’s just putting two good players in positions to make plays at the top of the floor and we’ll continue to move them around,” he added. “Gordon will handle in the pick and roll. He’ll set (screens) in the pick and roll. We do other stuff in our pick and roll as well. We just have to keep teams guessing right now.”
The Hornets flirted with some of these actions early in the season, showcasing it in the blowout loss in the second game against the Sixers.
The Hornets turned to Hayward as a screen-setter repeatedly, though, in the win on the road against the Hawks. It started early in the game as a way to get Trae Young switched onto Hayward, who easily shot over the shorter Young in the post.
Down the stretch, it was Devonte’ Graham who served as the ball handler. While Hayward did not get Young switched onto him, he created enough space that he was able to attack the poor closeout, get to the rim and eventually score with the foul.
Then, in the possession that served to produce the dagger, Hayward did get the switch onto Young, allowing him to bury a stepback mid-range jumper to ice the game.
Hayward has long been one of the best mid-range scorers in the league, particularly at the volume he takes them. In 2018-19, Hayward ranked in the 93rd percentile as a mid-range scorer and ranked in the 85th percentile last season. Early into this season, he’s shooting 46% on mid-range attempts, a tick below the 47% he shot last season.
“I think it’s something where we’re trying to take advantage of a matchup that we like,” Hayward said, “kind of get the ball for me in a position that I can either make a play for myself or make a play for my teammates in that paint area. I think that’s really all it is we’re trying to get a matchup that we like and kind of help me get an advantage.”
After the success in the Atlanta game, the team has turned to the action in the following games, using Ball as the ballhandler once more.
Against New Orleans, Hayward once again found himself with the ball in the mid-range. While a fadeaway is a low-percentage shot, it still resulted in the shot just rimming out.
Against New York, the Hornets ran a bit of an advanced action to ensure Ball and Hayward have space to work. Ball’s size allows him to whip a pass to Hayward who is able to attack down the middle of the lane for an easy finish.
One of the wrinkles that the Hornets haven’t shown yet, largely because Hayward has routinely been open on these actions, is Ball keeping the ball and attacking the rim. Against Philadelphia, Ball used a screen from Hayward to get downhill and eventually create an open look that he blew at the rim.
The other wrinkle Hayward and Ball have used without success yet has been Hayward drifting out to the 3-point line after the screen. Here, Hayward gets an open 3 but can’t convert.
While Borrego has enjoyed what he has seen from the Ball-Hayward action, he also plans on adding variables to it in order to keep those defenses guessing.
“I have multiple options to go to whether that’s LaMelo and Gordon, that’s Terry and Gordon, that’s Terry and LaMelo,” he said. “There’s a number of combinations I’ve gone to and we’ve played a little bit more small-small action this year than we’ve done in the past. But I think all those things are good for our offense, our flow in trying to create good offensive opportunities for us.”
What’s certain is that Borrego is getting creative to utilize all his weapons this season, an encouraging sign for an evolving Hornets offense.