The Charlotte Hornets have really started to play some good basketball lately as they have won five of their last six games with the only loss in that span being a close one to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Charlotte now sits at 10-7 and they are playing as well as they hoped coming into the season but it will be tough to maintain for the next couple of weeks as they will be without starting center Al Jefferson. Jefferson suffered a strained left calf in their win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday and is expected to miss 2-3 weeks, according to Charlotte Hornets PR.
Jefferson's numbers have been a little bit down this season, particularly his scoring numbers, but he has been very efficient so far. In Jefferson's first two years with the Hornets he was the focal point of the offense but now with Nicolas Batum on board Jefferson has become the second or third option and it has increased his effectiveness. The 30 year old center is only averaging 13.7 points per game but he is shooting 50 percent from the field and his 20.1 PER is second best on the team behind only Kemba Walker.
A major area where the Hornets will miss Jefferson while he's out, besides scoring, is rebounding. Jefferson's rebounding numbers are down this year as he is at a career low 8.7 rebounds per 36 minutes but he is still one of the best rebounders on a team that struggles in that area.
While Jefferson is out it appears that Steve Clifford will likely go with Cody Zeller in the starting lineup, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer, based on the fact that he started the second half of the game Jefferson was forced to exit. Zeller has played in all but two games for the Hornets this season and has been pretty good as he is averaging 6.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in 20.9 minutes per game.
While Zeller is expected to step into the starting lineup the good news for Charlotte is that they are much deeper in the frontcourt this year than they have been in the past so they should be able to withstand this injury. Behind Zeller Frank Kaminsky, Spencer Hawes and lightly used Tyler Hansbrough are all options to see increased playing time until Jefferson is able to return.
