Hornets Fan Survey: Part 3
Question 1
Analysis: This was the single most shocking answer out of the entire survey. Mark Williams went from spending the first half of the season in Greensboro to clearly being the fan's second favorite player after LaMelo Ball. Miles Bridges finishing third was eye opening. I would have thought his standing in the view of the fanbase would have slipped but it seems his popularity remains somewhat high despite the past year. Terry Rozier won this category comfortably last year at 41%, a drop to just below 9% is a surprising drop for a longstanding member of the team.
Question 2
Analysis: Fans never got to see Mark Williams play with the LaMelo Ball for an extended period of time last year due to injuries. Their chemistry will undoubtedly be key for success, but I'm hesitant to think a major "Leap" is coming for Williams. If you offered me Williams' stats as a starter last year (11.7pts 9.7reb 1.1blk) for next season I'd be satisfied. I voted for LaMelo Ball who as good as he is, still has a lot of room for growth in playing defense, rim finishing and improving as a leader. If Ball becomes an All-NBA level player, something I think is achievable, this team will win 40+ games.
Question 3
Analysis: With Charlotte's Over/Under sitting at 30.5 the above poll suggests 95% of Charlotte fans think the Hornets will hit the "Over". The fanbase clearly believes the return of Bridges, addition of Brandon Miller and natural development of the young core will lead to a more successful season.
Question 4
Analysis: After losing in the first round of the play-in tournament in 2021 and 2022 it's clear fans don't feel returning to that stage would be a "Success". A resounding 70% of fans will view this season as a failure if they don't finish higher than the 8th seed, that's a lofty goal in my opinion. Looking at NBA projections in Vegas and through advanced analytics Charlotte would need to strongly outperform expectations to be in contention for the 8th seed.
Question 5
Analysis: About 60% of the fanbase appear apathetic towards the tournament, it will be interesting to see how this tracks in future years. I'm biased as a big proponent of the in-season tournament, but I'm happy to see there are more fans who want to take it seriously than not.
Question 6
Analysis: Williams is the obvious answer with the starting role now his to lose. JT Thor finishing second is a sneaky good shout for this question, he made large strides towards the end of last season and if PJ Washington doesn't return will find himself in the rotation for most of the season.
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