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Naz Reid is averaging 16.2 points in his first season with the Hornets.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a decade since the Hornets last reached the Playoffs, the longest active drought in the NBA.<\/p>\n
With a revamped roster and a fresh direction, Charlotte is looking to change that. And through six games, there have been both encouraging signs and early obstacles.<\/p>\n
Tonight on NBA TV (6 ET<\/a>), the 3-3 Hornets look to bounce back from Friday\u2019s loss to Washington as they host the 5-1 Sixers \u2013 a big opportunity for a team searching for a signature win.<\/p>\n Ahead of the matchup, we examine three takeaways from the Hornets\u2019 first six games.<\/p>\n Early tests, by committee<\/p>\n The Hornets won 44 games last year, their most since 2015-16, including a 33-16 mark since Jan. 1 to reach the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament.<\/p>\n But after falling to Orlando in the Play-In, Charlotte opted for a new direction, trading LaMelo Ball<\/a> and Miles Bridges<\/a> while bringing in a new group of veterans to build around Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel.<\/p>\n For head coach Charles Lee, the overhaul meant a new roster to shape in his third season.<\/p>\n \u201cThis roster, we\u2019re going to talk a ton about trying to do it by committee,\u201d Lee said at Media Day<\/a>. \u201cThe thing that I love about the word \u2018committee,\u2019 too, is that it has the word \u2018commitment.\u2019 And you have to commit. It\u2019s about your actions, embracing every day. Trying to elevate the guy next to you \u2013 expecting excellence.\u201d<\/p>\n That by-committee approach has been tested early, with Knueppel (hamstring), Coby White (calf) and Grant Williams (hamstring) all missing the first six games of the season.<\/p>\n The returns have been mixed. Three newcomers \u2013 Naz Reid (16.2 ppg), Grayson Allen (13.5) and Dennis Schr\u00f6der (13.0) \u2013 rank among the team\u2019s top four scorers.<\/p>\n But the Hornets are last in offensive rating (99.2<\/a>) and have the two lowest-scoring totals in the NBA this season: 81 points in an Oct. 23 loss to Atlanta and 79 in Friday\u2019s defeat to Washington.<\/p>\n Yet Lee\u2019s squad has answered defensively. After posting a 113.5 defensive rating last season, Charlotte has improved that number to 108.0<\/a> through its first six games \u2013 the seventh-best mark in the NBA.<\/p>\n Despite the offensive struggles and key absences, the Hornets have stayed afloat by embracing what Lee preached this offseason: a commitment to doing it by committee.<\/p>\n Brandon Miller\u2019s leap<\/p>\n In Monday\u2019s win over Washington<\/a>, Miller dropped a career-high 39 points while becoming the second-fastest player in NBA history to hit 500 3-pointers, doing so in just 170 games.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Brandon Miller drops 39 in Hornets win.<\/p>\n The milestone reflected how productive Miller has been through his first three seasons. The performance offered a glimpse of just how scary the 23-year-old can become.<\/p>\n With Ball and Bridges gone, and Knueppel and White sidelined, Miller has shouldered Charlotte\u2019s scoring load \u2013 and delivered.<\/p>\n Miller was held to 19 points Friday, ending a streak of three straight 30-point games, the longest of his career. Still, the year 4 wing is averaging a career-best 24.5 ppg through six games.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s how he\u2019s scored that\u2019s stood out.<\/p>\n