With NBA preseason set to start, there are signs of optimism for the Hornets

Optimism is usually rampant for most NBA teams at this point.

With rosters at full strength and health often at a premium, it gives the majority of the league’s franchises belief their respective seasons will be fruitful and rewarding during the lengthy six-plus month trek.

It’s true for the Charlotte Hornets, too. Perhaps some of it comes from the team’s new ownership group or the youthful breath of fresh air stemming from Brandon Miller’s arrival. But as they get set to begin their preseason in Miami on Tuesday following six days of training camp practice, there’s an unmistakable aura surrounding them that’s hard to not notice.

“Oh, definitely,” coach Steve Clifford said. “But I think a big part of it is the veteran players, their attitude and the fact that they came back for all of September. They are in great shape, they’ve shown great leadership.

“I think having Miles (Bridges) back is part of it. I think the older players’ confidence and how Mark Williams and Nick Richards played at the end of last year is part of it. And they have a lot of confidence in Brandon already. But, yeah, we are definitely in a good place.”

Clifford’s hope is the Hornets’ are at an even better point following their four-game preseason schedule, which also includes a stop in Washington against the Wizards on Thursday before wrapping up with home dates against Oklahoma City and Boston. He still has to sift through a variety of lineup combinations to gauge their effectiveness, but won’t have a true barometer since Bridges won’t be available to play in game action until Nov. 17.

“There’s a lot of ways it could go,” Clifford said. “It’s not like we are going to come out in these first two exhibition games and play guys 38 minutes and stuff. These are really good practices basically.”

Which is why people shouldn’t read too much into the results.

“(It’s) the same thing as practice every day — just get better,” Clifford said. “The exhibition games are another way to make progress through the preseason. That’s all it is.”

Daily scrimmages are king

When the words “training camp” are uttered, people usually tend to think about monotonous drill work and the repetitive, grinding nature of the first days of practice prior to preseason action.

That’s not how Clifford is conducting things. It’s not a part of his philosophy.

Instead, the Hornets have spent a bulk of their two-plus hour sessions scrimmaging, getting in their fair share of five-on-five action. In fact, Clifford even had his referee’s whistle out one day, serving as an unofficial official.

“It’s great,” Clifford said. “What happens is obviously, you can do it one or two ways: you either do a bunch of drills and structured things and you are going to be more organized early, and when you do it like this it’s like to me, you can get your intensity better.

“But we are not very detailed right now on the floor. But you can’t do everything. So, we do some drills, too.”

Call it the Jeff and Stan Van Gundy way. The two coaches were instrumental in Clifford’s career.

“I’ve worked for a lot of different guys and guys do it a lot of different ways,” Clifford said. “This was the Van Gundy way — both of them. We always scrimmaged a lot and then as we get to the end of training camp I’ll try to make it better. But I have a comfort level with this. Even if we are not as purposeful early in the year, I just think it’s the best way to go.”

The veterans are in complete agreement with that.

“I think as long as we are playing the right way, then it’s really good for us,” Gordon Hayward said. “Because you’ve got to kind of find your legs, there’s nothing like playing in a basketball setting. And even then when we get to the real games,your adrenaline will be higher and we will have to work through some of those. That’s kind of what the preseason is for. But nothing compares to getting up and down the court playing basketball, so it’s been fun.”

Rookies having a ball

Don’t think the Hornets are excited to have Brandon Miller? Purple and teal day was a good 15 minutes from starting, and the huge video board above the Spectrum Center court was replaying the video of Miller chatting with then-majority, now-minority owner Michael Jordan after the Hornets selected him with the No. 2 pick in June’s draft.

And the Hornets made sure to give the rookie some time in the spotlight.

Miller was featured in a 3-point shootout with Bridges and LaMelo Ball, knocking down a total of nine from the corner after he settled the nerves. He wound up tied with Bridges, losing to Ball, who drained 10. He also had to do a little rookie signing, opting to “Wheels on the Bus” before being forced to use his pipes to give a rousing rendition of “Happy birthday” alongside Nick Smith Jr., and Amari Bailey.

“I don’t know what that was,” Smith said. “We were trying to find something to sing and I guess it was ‘Happy birthday.’”

This is a new experience for Miller, Smith and Bailey. There’s a lot of information they have to master and the amount varies by position.

Sifting through it and getting comfortable with everything being thrown at them takes time. Observation is key when they aren’t getting as many repetitions as the veterans ahead of them in the pecking order.

“I’ve learned a lot,” Smith said, “just from the simple fact of me paying attention, me just being locked in everyday and I still have a ways to go. So, I’ve been fitting in with the team well and hopefully we can just keep it going.”

Smith is thoroughly soaking the preseason in, enjoying doing it alongside Miller, his good buddy.

“It’s definitely a good experience,” Smith said, “just learning stuff and bonding with the team, coming out and putting on for this amazing city. So, it was definitely cool .We’ve just got to keep grinding and hopefully get some wins for the city.”