Here’s kind of the weird thing. As the Hornets have adapted into a more perimeter-oriented, 3-point shooting team, Jefferson’s importance has sort of dropped, but not on the offensive end surprisingly. The Hornets are actually six points better this season per 100 possessions with Jefferson off the floor. Of particular note, they’re 10 points better defensively in that time.
So Jefferson is definitely an important player for Charlotte, but with the way they’ve been playing, his absence might not cool them down. It’ll be interesting to see if the injury will hurt Charlotte on the glass, and if lack of a center of gravity will hurt their perimeter options moving forward. Also, this means more minutes for rookie Frank Kaminsky, which could be rough.
Courtesy: CBS Sports
