After Lance Stephenson's trade to Charlotte Hornets from the Indiana Pacers, people expected nothing from 'Born Ready' but great things. Why not? Stephenson had his best season in the NBA last year, leading the league in terms of triple-double. He was even dubbed as one of the top All-Star Game snubs. However, nothing good is happening yet for Charlotte Hornets. Lance Stephenson has had some quality performances but in terms of team ranking, the Hornets are playing poorly.
Although he is averaging 9.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game for the Michael Jordan owned club, the 24-year old shooting guard is only shooting 36%, a far cry from his average last year. Lance Stephenson trade to Charlotte Hornets had people thinking that he will finally be included in the All-Star. The stats shows opposite though. Even his coach, Steve Clifford, thinks the same. Lance Stephenson is not an all-star.
"To be fair, one of the things that's made it more difficult for him is that he came here and people proclaimed him as the next superstar," Clifford said after loss to Portland Trailblazers, as reported by ESPN's Michael Wallace.
"He's not a star. He's a guy that has talent to become a star. To be a star in this league, you have to do it over years."
"He started two years before he got here. He played on a really good team, so everybody saw him play when no one else was playing," the coach said. "When Al Jefferson came here, he'd (averaged) 19 (points) and eight (rebounds) for like 10 years. You knew what you were going to get. And that's what Lance needs to become. In many ways it's not fair."
Right now, Lance Stephenson and Charlotte Hornets are at the 13th spot in the Eastern Conference after recording seven straight losses. Next on their schedule are Golden State Warriors, (Nov. 28), Atlanta Hawks (Nov, 29), Chicago Bulls (Dec. 3), and New York Knicks (Dec. 5) before getting a five-day rest.
