Hornets Media Day: Playoffs clearly the goal for eager, excited Hornets

By Richard Walker

Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier said on Monday what most of his team’s fans think entering the 2021-22 season.

Asked about the team’s goals for the upcoming season, Rozier said: “You’ve got to make the playoffs.”

Rozier later added that if his team did not make the postseason, this season would be “an absolute fail.”

What it means is that Charlotte head coach James Borrego and his team will begin training camp on Tuesday with advancing to the 2022 postseason as a clear goal.

“We should definitely be a playoff team,” forward Miles Bridges said.

Charlotte made the play-in tournament last season but a 144-117 blowout loss at the Indiana Pacers ended the season on a sour note – and a six-game losing streak.

The team navigated the COVID-altered 2020-21 season better than most anticipated, improving to fourth place in the Eastern Conference before injuries to Gordon Hayward, LaMelo Ball and others cost the team manpower down the stretch; Charlotte finished 33-39 overall and was the 10th and last team to make the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.

Ball’s NBA Rookie of the Year season was sidetracked by a broken wrist that cost him 21 games.

Hayward missed 29 games, Cody Martin 11, P.J. Washington seven, Bridges six and Rozier three among returning Hornets players. And departed Hornets players like Cody Zeller (19 games), Devonte’ Graham (18) and Malik Monk (17) also missed significant time last year.

Good health would certainly help the Hornets in the 2021-22 but depth has been added to a roster Borrego considers the deepest he’s had in his head coaching tenure in Charlotte that is in its fourth season.

The projected starting lineup is guards Ball and Rozier, forwards Hayward and Bridges or Washington and center Mason Plumlee with Bridges or Washington leading a group of reserves that include veteran offseason acquisitions Ish Smith, Kelly Oubre and Wes Iwundu, rookie first-round draft picks James Bouknight and Kai Jones and returnees Martin, Jalen McDaniels, Nick Richards and Vernon Carey.

“This is my favorite time of the year,” Borrego said. “Watching these guys compete. I think thi week and going into the first couple of weeks of the season we’ll learn a lot about ourselves.”

Borrego is optimistic he’ll get a full season out of Ball and Hayward.

On Ball: “He spent a lot of time in the weight room and he’s stronger. For us to take that next step, he has to be own this team.”

Of Hayward: “When he went out, we were the fourth team in the East and we know what happened after that. He takes us to another level.”

Here is the full 2021-22 schedule as the Hornets prepare for an Oct. 4 start to the preseason and an Oct. 20 start to the regular season:

(Preseason)
OCTOBER
Mon. 4 at Oklahoma City 8:00
Thu. 7 MEMPHIS 7:00
Mon. 11 at Miami 7:30
Wed. 13 DALLAS 7:00

(Regular season)

OCTOBER
Wed. 20 INDIANA 7:00
Fri. 22 at Cleveland 7:00
Sun. 24 at Brooklyn 4:00
Mon. 25 BOSTON 7:00
Wed. 27 at Orlando 7:00
Fri. 29 at Miami 7:30
Sun. 31 PORTLAND 7:00
NOVEMBER
Mon. 1 CLEVELAND 7:00
Wed. 3 at Golden State 10:00
Fri. 5 at Sacramento 10:00
Sun. 7 at LA Clippers 9:00
Mon. 8 at L.A. Lakers 10:30
Wed. 10 at Memphis 8:00
Fri. 12 NEW YORK 7:00
Sun. 14 GOLDEN STATE 7:00
Wed. 17 WASHINGTON 7:00
Fri. 19 INDIANA 7:00
Sat. 20 at Atlanta 7:30
Mon. 22 at Washington 7:00
Wed. 24 at Orlando 7:00
Fri. 26 MINNESOTA 7:00
Sat. 27 at Houston 8:00
Mon. 29 at Chicago 8:00
DECEMBER
Wed. 1 at Milwaukee 8:00
Sun. 5 at Atlanta 6:00
Mon. 6 PHILADELPHIA 7:00
Wed. 8 PHILADELPHIA 7:00
Fri. 10 SACRAMENTO 7:00
Mon. 13 at Dallas 8:30
Wed. 15 at San Antonio 8:30
Fri. 17 at Portland 10:00
Sun. 19 at Phoenix 8:00
Mon. 20 at Utah 9:00
Thu. 23 at Denver 9:00
Mon. 27 HOUSTON 7:00
Wed. 29 at Indiana 7:00
JANUARY
Sun. 2 PHOENIX 7:00
Mon. 3 at Washington 7:00
Wed. 5 DETROIT 7:00
Sat. 8 MILWAUKEE 7:00
Mon. 10 MILWAUKEE 7:00
Wed. 12 at Philadelphia 7:00
Fri. 14 ORLANDO 7:00
Mon. 17 at New York 1:00
Wed. 19 at Boston 7:30
Fri. 21 OKLAHOMA CITY 7:00
Sun. 23 ATLANTA 7:00
Tue. 25 at Toronto 7:00
Wed. 26 at Indiana 7:00
Fri. 28 L.A. LAKERS 7:00
Sun. 30 LA CLIPPERS 1:00
FEBRUARY
Wed. 2 at Boston 7:30
Fri. 4 CLEVELAND 7:00
Sat. 5 MIAMI 7:00
Mon. 7 TORONTO 7:00
Wed. 9 CHICAGO 7:30
Fri. 11 at Detroit 7:00
Sat. 12 MEMPHIS 7:00
Tue. 15 at Minnesota 8:00
Thu. 17 MIAMI 7:00
Fri. 25 TORONTO 7:00
Sun. 27 DETROIT 7:00
Mon. 28 at Milwaukee 8:00
MARCH
Wed. 2 at Cleveland 7:00
Sat. 5 SAN ANTONIO 7:00
Tue. 8 BROOKLYN 7:00
Wed. 9 BOSTON 7:00
Fri. 11 at New Orleans 8:00
Mon. 14 at Oklahoma City 8:00
Wed. 16 ATLANTA 7:00
Sat. 19 DALLAS 7:00
Mon. 21 NEW ORLEANS 7:00
Wed. 23 NEW YORK 7:00
Fri. 25 UTAH 7:00
Sun. 27 at Brooklyn 7:30
Mon. 28 DENVER 7:00
Wed. 30 at New York 7:30
APRIL
Sat. 2 at Philadelphia 12:30
Tue. 5 at Miami 7:30
Thu. 7 ORLANDO 7:00
Fri. 8 at Chicago 8:00
Sun. 10 WASHINGTON TBD