After a difficult injury-ravaged season, here are five reasons the Hornets’ future may be bright

Mercifully, it’s over.

An injury-ravaged season that began with promise and raised expectations came to an end Sunday afternoon in Cleveland, bringing a finality to the Charlotte Hornets’ 2022-23 campaign. After finding themselves on the right side of the scoreboard for once courtesy of a 106-95 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, recapping the last six months while also peeking ahead to a future that can truly commence.

Now locked into a 12.5% chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick in June, which is widely expected to be French phenom Victor Wembanyama, posting the fourth-worst record in the NBA means there’s plenty for the Hornets (27-55) to assess over the coming days and weeks.

“To take a more in-depth look, that’s what the next few weeks are for,” coach Steve Clifford said Sunday. “It’s important to take your time and look at it and really know what you’re good at or what you have done well or what you haven’t done well in all phases.”

There’s also that caveat for the Hornets, though. The huge one.

“And not to make excuses, but obviously for us health has been a big, big part of that,” Clifford said. “I just think you have to look at all of it. Every aspect of offense, every aspect of defense. How you practice, how you do shootarounds, what was good, what was bad and we are going to have time to do that.”

As the dust settles from Charlotte’s seventh straight season without a playoff berth — now the longest in the NBA — here are five reasons to be optimistic about the Hornets moving forward:

Clifford commands respect

Although he wasn’t dealt the easiest circumstances, given he didn’t officially come on board until after the draft last June, Clifford drew praise from plenty all season for the way he’s handled things since his arrival.

He’s extremely detail-oriented and created more of a structured system that many of the players felt was necessary and, more importantly, provided a verified winning blueprint. Dennis Smith Jr. was adamant about the effectiveness of Clifford’s approach and he’s not the only one.

During this past week when the Hornets were matching wits with play-in tournament bound Toronto despite Charlotte’s top players sitting out, Raptors coach Nick Nurse pointed out Clifford’s knack for game-planning and how the Hornets altered their approach after halftime and forced Toronto out of its comfort zone.

“They went and took it all away in the second half — like all of it,” Nurse said. “And I just remember from the playoffs, just when we’d be playing against him (in Orlando) and how good he was at adjusting and defensively taking stuff away that’s working for you.”

Nurse’s praise for Clifford didn’t stop there.

“Among his peers, we all really respect him,” Nurse said. “For me, I was talking to a veteran member of the league (Tuesday) morning about Coach Clifford. He’s got this whole new group of guys playing really organized, but a pretty simple package of stuff they’re doing. But they’re really doing it well, and the ball’s going where it’s supposed to go. They’re playing unselfish, like a good brand of offensive basketball.

“He’s got a pretty good defensive pedigree in his history and he’s been good at making adjustments and all those kinds of things. So, it’s hard when you are coaching a younger team for anybody to get any credit. I think it’s all about wins and losses and maybe it shouldn’t be.”

Center of attention

While it’s too early to make a direct proclamation explicitly stating the Hornets’ long nightmare at center is finally solved, it certainly appears the franchise may have plugged the gaping hole inside the paint.

Mark Williams and Nick Richards played admirably, providing the Hornets with a nice one-two punch since they became the main tandem following February’s trade of Mason Plumlee to the LA Clippers. They dramatically improved the Hornets’ presence at the rim.

“I think both of us have done a lot of growing and had a lot of development,” Williams said. “I think for us it’s just continuing to build on that … heading into next season. Just continuing to build and continuing to get better every single day.”

Some questioned why the Hornets traded Jalen Duren in the three-team deal on draft night last June, especially when Duren was putting up solid numbers with Detroit early on while Williams slowly gained his footing as a pro in the G League. But once he got into the rotation and showed what he could do, Williams began silencing any doubters and displaying why the Hornets thought he was the best big man in the draft.

In 44 games, Williams notched 11 double-doubles — the sixth-most in a season by any Hornets rookie — capped by a career-best 22 points and 10 rebounds against the Cavaliers. And Richards played well enough to earn himself a three-year, $15 million contract extension, allowing him to avoid restricted free agency this summer. Instead, he can focus on polishing his game.

“Our defense since they started has taken off,” Clifford said. “The numbers aren’t going to be as good now because we played all the young guys. But I think from the first game Mark started after the trade until basically all those (veteran) guys went down again, I think we were top five in defense. So there’s a lot to build on there.”

McGowens a find

Mining for gold with their second-round picks is a staple under Mitch Kupchak, the Hornets’ GM and president of basketball operations. They’ve found value in several since Kupchak’s arrival in 2018, ranging from Devonte’ Graham to Cody Martin to Nick Richards to even JT Thor.

Looks like Bryce McGowens is the newest addition to that group.

McGowens recorded the three highest-scoring games of his career over the last week and his improved shooting was obvious down the season’s stretch. He made a 3-pointer in each of last eight outings to close out his rookie year.

Easily, he’s one of the team’s hardest workers and everyone raves about his likable nature.

“It really means a lot coming from the coaches and other players,” McGowens said. “I feel like that’s just the person I was raised to be, how I was brought up — just to be coachable, coming from a coaching background and parents who are coaches. That gives me the extra support and strength and to just continue that and continue to build on that.”

LaMelo on the mend

There’s little doubt LaMelo Ball is disappointed his season ended prematurely after fracturing his right ankle on March 1. But he’s keeping true to his usual demeanor and that’s a good thing for the Hornets considering how injuries wreaked havoc on his third season.

Although he wasn’t spotted on the bench. Ball was still very much around and smiling as always. He’s utilizing a smaller walking boot than larger one he initially sported following the surgical procedure, and hearing him say a few weeks ago that he will be good to go in time for training camp is music to the Hornets’ ears.

Ball’s importance can’t be understated. Before getting hurt, he was the lone player in the league this season who averaged at least 23 points and eight assists with three made 3-pointers per game — and only five players in NBA history put those numbers up for an entire season.

He also averaged 25.2 points and 11.3 assists in his final half dozen games prior to going down, making him the only player in franchise history to do so over a six-game stretch. It’s why his health is so paramount and vital to the Hornets moving forward.

They hate the current narrative

One of the Hornets’ biggest strengths is their team chemistry. From all indications, the players genuinely like each other. That’s not always the case at this level of competition.

Keeping that bond together was key and bodes well as they try to turn it around.

“That part’s been a strength to me all season,” Clifford said. “These guys dealt with adversity all year and it started early. And they’ve done a good job, I think sometimes people don’t understand. They want to win too. Badly.

“You play 82 games, you are always going to have to deal with some frustration, disappointment. But a lot of teams can’t do that. And these guys have done a good job with that.”