After a limited role in his rookie season, Dwyane Bacon proved in Summer League that he can play a key role in the Hornets’ rotation.
During his first year in the NBA, second-round pick Dwayne Bacon had trouble finding playing time in the Hornets’ rotation. Despite starting early-on because of injuries, Bacon didn’t seem to have a definite role in the Hornets’ game plan.
Reasons range from ex-head coach Steve Clifford’s lack of trust in rookies to Clifford’s preferred style of offense–a slower pace, which disabled Bacon from using his athleticism to full potential.
Bottom line: Bacon had a rough time establishing floor presence.
But things seem to have changed in Bacon’s favor. With new coach James Borrego at the helm, Bacon has an opportunity to show his athleticism. Borrego has emphasized the use of a faster-paced style of ball, including more transition opportunities, as well as using five-out sets.
Bacon is comfortable with this style of play and is working on improving his game. Bacon practiced doing a lot more finishing (drills) and worked on his ballhandling. The practice carried over into Summer League play, which was overseen by assistant coach Jay Hernandez.
Here are the three key areas in which Bacon improved during Summer League 2018.
Bacon is much happier now (photo, Charlotte Observer)
Transition
When head coach Steve Clifford took over the reigns of Charlotte back in 2013, he made one thing clear: crash the glass. He favored gaining the rebound instead of looking for transition opportunities. But, now, Borrego wants a quick tempo after a missed shot. A strong believer in easy transition opportunities, Bacon is showing Borrego that he’s the man to score on those chances–whether it’s dunking, going for a layup, or making an outlet pass after a missed shot.
Isolation
Borrego is also emphasizing more spacing in the halfcourt. Whether that’s by having one or nobody in the paint, the Hornets want to play a modern style of basketball.
This spacing allows more opportunities in isolation because there are fewer people down low to clog up the paint.
Bacon was a great iso player in college and now he’s able to use that skill in the NBA.
Passing
Besides his noticeable scoring improvement in Summer League 2018–when compared to his play in last year’s league–Bacon is also displaying better court vision. Last year, Bacon wasn’t consistently able to find the open man. Instead, he leaned on finding the best shot selection for himself. This resulted in his assist percentage (7.5) that was lower than his turnover percentage (10.2).
That stat isn’t likely to be repeated. In Summer League 2018, Bacon was able to find the open guy and, at times, was able to facilitate the offense in the halfcourt. Being a better playmaker means Bacon could become a point forward–the second facilitator off the bench behind Hornets’ guard Tony Parker.
The bottom line? Summer League 2018 was an absolute success for Dwayne Bacon. He’s thriving under Borrego’s leadership.
Expect Dwayne Bacon to a vital off-the-bench contributor.
