About a month into the 2021-22 NBA season, Miles Bridges is one of the leading candidates for the Most Improved Player award (Instagram/@Hornets).

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In Year 2 of 20-year-old point guard LaMelo Ball’s NBA career, the Charlotte Hornets are playing with one of the league’s fastest paces while managing to score efficiently. Their successful high-octane offense has provided a breath of fresh air, although their defense ranks among the league worst and they’ve been plagued by long scoring droughts as well as other types of inconsistency. As a result, despite notable improvement from Ball and forward Miles Bridges and a healthy start from Gordon Hayward (not to mention his reliable production), the Hornets sit just a game above .500. Nick Denning, former editor at SB Nation’s At the Hive, breaks down what to expect from this enigmatic team that began 4-1 with three road wins, then dropped six of seven and has since won three straight, including a Sunday night victory over the then-11-1 Warriors. What can we make of this team? Nick will guide us through as we aim to determine that.

7:25-8:07: “Their offense, that’s why people watch them. It’s just how good they are offensively, it’s all the weapons they have, it’s the instinctiveness that LaMelo and others play with. He starts it, but everybody feeds off it, and head coach Borrego really allows that instinctiveness. That’s what’s gonna keep them in games, and then those nights when they can play well enough defensively are gonna be the nights where they can pull off some wins and maybe beat some teams that they don’t really have any business beating.”

13:26-14:02: “You’re aware of just how underwhelming the Hornets have been for much of their existence, so to have a player like him, just for what he does alone, it’s worth the price of admission. It’s worth planning your evenings around watching him because you know you’re gonna get a couple plays that just, they make me shake my head, and they make me just think that everything that’s come before this, all the missed draft picks, all the bad free agency decisions, maybe it was worth it if I can get a decade or more of watching this kid play for us and do these special things.’”

21:40-22:17: “The role [Miles Bridges] has this year was actually orchestrated at the end of last season. Basically, Borrego said, ‘Hey, we like what you did this year, but you’ve gotta take the next step, and that step comes with ball-handling. We want you to isolate more, we want you to be able take on defenders more yourself. … I think [he’s such an integral part of Charlotte’s success] because the coaching staff looked at the roster and said, ‘Look, for us to improve next year or take the next step, Miles has to take the next step himself.’ He obviously bought into that. He attacks the hoop much more effectively than I’ve ever seen him do before.”

32:38-32:48: “It’s not flashy, and that’s probably why [Gordon Hayward] doesn’t get the attention that Bridges and LaMelo get, but he kinda holds things together.”

36:50-37:00: “I’ve come to realize through 14 games that this is who [Kelly Oubre Jr.] is gonna be. You just have to accept it and ride with it. No pun intended, but ride the wave.”

38:51-40:00: “Up until this point and probably for at least another season, [Borrego] is being evaluated on player development, at least primarily on player development. … Maybe not this year but definitely next year, that expectation is gonna shift from player development to winning, to making the playoffs and to competing in the playoffs.”

*Rob Mahoney’s article referenced in the above discussion.

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Music: “Who Likes to Party” by Kevin MacLeod.