He provided a huge lift last season when he was acquired from the Milwaukee Bucks, imparting his veteran, playoff-experienced mindset on this team down the stretch. Gary Neal has one job on this team, and he is doing an awful job at it. Stats: 11.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 37.8 percent shooting He was supposed to take the next step toward becoming a legitimate star while also elevating this Hornets team to the next level, but the exact opposite has happened. Regardless, Stephenson has not lived up to his expectations at all. It is a shame because he was starting to come around a bit before his pelvis injury. His role as the third scorer on this team is still there for him, and if he comes back before Jefferson, he has to light a fire under this team. When he returns, he had better get things together. The bottom line is that he was not signed to be this team's seventh-best player. There have been incredible highs and very bad lows, from game-winning threes to trade speculation and getting benched in crunch time. It is also disconcerting that the team is 6-5 since he went down and was 6-19 with him. When he was on the court, to say things didn't go smoothly would be an understatement. Stephenson's injury has not healed nearly as quickly as many had hoped, as he still sits without a timetable for a return after missing 11 games. Stats: 10.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 0.8 steals, 38.6 percent shooting He has had a couple of solid games, such as his double-double performance with three blocks during just 21 minutes in a win over the Denver Nuggets on December 22, but Hairston is far too inconsistent to be trusted yet. Hairston is one of the few men on this roster who is capable of providing a true shot in the arm for this stagnant offense, but he is shooting a paltry 30 percent from the floor. The enigmatic rookie has seen some extended run of late, but his shot selection is just abhorrent. He is more or less a mentor at this point. He played sparingly in the month of December and has seen his minutes increase with Jefferson's injury, but Maxiell still hasn't made his presence known. The 10-year veteran is averaging just 2.7 points and 2.4 rebounds. Maxiell was brought in this offseason to provide some grit and veteran leadership to this young roster, but the big man has been mostly an afterthought thus far in his brief Hornets tenure. Every game Pargo has appeared in has been decided by double digits, which means he is only getting off the pine when Charlotte is getting blown out. Pargo is shooting 41 percent from three-point range, although he is seeing just eight minutes per night. He has appeared in 21 games and has not been afraid to fire when his number is called. He has netted just 10 points in 34 total minutes over six games of action.Ĭharlotte's third-string point guard has been relegated to mop-up duty this season behind Brian Roberts on the depth chart. With Charlotte struggling so much, it would be a welcome sight to see the phenom get a shot at more minutes, but Vonleh has been unable to crack the rotation at all. The team recently summoned the talented 19-year-old from the D-League due to Al Jefferson's extended absence. He has a ton of work to do if he is to get back in the good graces of this franchise, as he is now behind plenty of bodies on the roster. His three points and four rebounds total earns him the last spot on the power rankings. Taylor has appeared in just three games since returning from his lengthy suspension and has done next to nothing. If the team has another big turnaround in it, many of these guys will have to step it up tremendously. With the season's halfway point just around the corner, we are nearing the time where Charlotte kicked it into high gear in 2013-14. Have things changed much since our last installment of the power rankings? The power rankings will take a look at a number of things, including overall level of production, expectations and overall value to the team. There have been injuries, subpar performances, inconsistency, trade rumors and a partridge in a pear tree. The roster as a whole has been tumultuous, to say the least. As bad as things are, fans cannot lose sight of the fact that the Hornets are just 3.5 games back of the eighth spot in the wide open Eastern Conference. Lengthy absences from stalwarts Al Jefferson and Lance Stephenson have thrown a curveball at a franchise that was unprepared to hit one, but Steve Clifford has his boys doing everything they can to weather the storm. The 12-24 Charlotte Hornets were supposed to bring the buzz back to North Carolina in 2014-15, but the injury bug has done most of the buzzing recently.
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