The Charlotte Hornets took a major hit this preseason when Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had to undergo shoulder surgery that will likely keep him out for the entire season. Kidd-Gilchrist is the team's starting shooting guard and their best perimeter defender so how the Hornets replaced him would be a big factor in how the team did this year. So far head coach Steve Clifford has gone with P.J. Hairston as his starting shooting guard and it doesn't look like that will change anytime soon, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
Hairston has started all seven games for Charlotte this season and he has been extremely underwhelming as his PER (5.7) is the lowest on the team among guys that have played in every game and he is shooting just 32 percent from the field and 23 percent from three. Meanwhile Clifford has both Jeremy Lamb and Jeremy Lin coming off the bench and they have both been great which has Hornets fans clamoring for one of them to take the starting spot.
It would seem like a good idea for Lamb or Lin to start but Clifford's explanations as to why they likely won't be inserted into the starting lineup are sound. His first thought is that by having a strong bench it will allow the starters to play less.
"Hopefully the starters can play less minutes. You think about two years ago literally Kemba and Al were playing 40 to 42 minutes a night. That catches up to you. In many ways I believe that's why Al got injured in the playoffs," said Clifford.
Clifford also added that having Lamb or Lin in the starting lineup wouldn't allow them to be as effective as they have been. Lamb and Lin are the offensive focal points of the second unit but if they were inserted into the starting lineup they would take a back seat to Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker. As it stands now Hairston is only playing 17.9 minutes per game compared to Lamb's 21.5 and Lin's 22.7 so even though they aren't starting they are getting plenty of minutes.
Clifford said the only way he would really consider a change to his starting lineup would be if there was an injury and that's smart. The Hornets are 3-4 so far this year but that can't be blamed on Lamb and Lin as they have both been great, as a matter of fact, Lamb has been Charlotte's best player in terms of PER. The real problem has been the relatively underwhelming performances from Walker, Jefferson and Nicolas Batum. Lamb and Lin seem to have found their perfect role coming off the bench so Clifford is right to leave things that way instead of messing with what has worked for those two players.