While the NBA Playoffs obviously take up 90% of the League’s news at the moment, the Woj is always there to give us a big break that we didn’t expect. A breakthrough that concerns a team watching the postseason on TV: this Friday, the Hornets decided to throw James Borrego overboard.
We don’t know if the Hornets needed attention in the current Playoff period, but in any case they have just hit hard. According to Adrian Wojnarowski ofESPN, the franchise of Michael Jordan has therefore chosen to separate from its coach after four seasons on the Charlotte bench. A surprising decision at first sight when you see the progress made by the Hornets in terms of results over the past two years. Under the impetus in particular of the draft of LaMelo Ball, the fine rise of Miles Bridges, as well as the contributions of rookies such as Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier or Kelly Oubre Jr., the gang at Borrego went from 23 wins in the first post-Kemba Walker season to 43 this year. All this while becoming one of the most fun teams to see play in the NBA. So even if we could expect movements on the North Carolina side, whether through transfers to save money for the big contract extensions of Bridges and Ball, or even in the offices where the general manager Mitch Kupchak seems to have an uncertain future according to some rumors in the hallway, we did not imagine that the changes were going to be made on the bench. This is all the more surprising since James Borrego was extended last summer by the Hornets through a multi-year contract. According to Jake Fischer’s sources of Bleacher Reportthe coach also shared a good relationship with the duo Ball – Bridges, which of course represents the future of the franchise. So why ?
Charlotte suffered blowout losses in both postseason games, which appears to have negated regular season win improvement and player development among Miles Bridges, LaMelo Ball and previously Devonte Graham.
– Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 22, 2022
Hot like that, we would tend to say that the Hornets’ new fail at the play-in tournament got the better of Borrego (no kidding). For the second year in a row, the Hornets fell heavily in the first match of the play-in and therefore could not even dream of a first qualification in the Playoffs since 2016. Last year, Charlotte had taken the water in Indiana with a 144-117 defeat, again this year in Atlanta with a big jail 132-103. Inevitably, it went badly at MJ and this is probably the first reason that explains this referral to Pôle Emploi. Are there any others that we don’t know about behind the scenes of the Hornets? Perhaps. We remember for example that there were some tensions this season between Borrego and the rookie James Bouknight selected in eleventh position in the last draft. Maybe we don’t know everything. But what we do know, however, is that the now former Charlotte coach never received the pivot that the Hornets defense really lacked to go from open door mode to a minimum respectable level. We also know that the Hornets have had to deal with fairly reluctant injuries over the past two seasons, from LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward in particular. So there’s something to be surprised, but this is not the first time that the Jojo franchise has made decisions that are difficult to grasp. Perhaps we will understand it better when we know the identity of Borrego’s successor. Or not for that matter.
James Borrego is shown the door and we will now closely monitor the candidates who could take his place on the bench from next season. The mission, in any case, is clear: to make the Hornets a team that counts in the Eastern Conference through a qualification in the Playoffs. What James Borrego did not succeed despite the work done in recent years.
Source texte : ESPN, Bleacher Report
Twice the Hornets bounced at the Playin Tournament, not sure if it was Borrego’s “fault”.
I just want to see who the Hornets have in mind, because if it’s tack to tack…watch out. We’re having fun in Charlotte but we have to pass a level, recruit better ALREADY.
— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) April 22, 2022
Not surprised if Kupchak and Charlotte’s management save their ass a bit. We didn’t recruit very well, so the results are the coach’s fault.
Except that no one is fooled, we will look very closely at the signings of the Hornets this summer. You can’t cook without equipment.
— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) April 22, 2022
