Hornets' Borrego mixes lineups, pleased with first day of minicamp

The Charlotte Hornets opened their first day of bubble camp in their home city on Wednesday with 13 returning players and five more from their G-League franchise in Greensboro. With only two weeks together until the next season at this point, every day will count in the development of the team going into next season.

Coach James Borrego’s group got in some skill work, breaking into three teams for 60 minutes of scrimmaging. Borrego met with the media for about 15 minutes after practice and offered some positive feedback after Day One.

When asked how the players looked on their first day, he said the team "was much sharper" and better than he expected. "(It was a) very good first day," he said. "I’m encouraged by what I saw.”

He also praised the players for coming into the bubble in good shape. 

“I didn’t know what the players would look like to be honest," he said. "But the guys were in a much better spot than I anticipated, so I think we’re going to get more out of these two weeks than I expected.” 

The Hornets are expected to mix up the teams for the scrimmages, something that took place immediately.

"We wanted a competitive balance and I think every day it’s going to look different," Borrego said. "Some days we’ll put the starters vs. the reserves vs. maybe the G league group.

"We’re going to mix it up throughout the week, I want to keep it fresh, energetic, upbeat, competitive. I think we saw that today."

While no one player stood out on the first day, Borrego said he was pleased with the progression of everyone in the basics of the game -- ball-handling, shooting and play-making. 

The Hornets are scheduled to practice again tomorrow and throughout the rest of the week.

Photo courtesy Charlotte Hornets