Here’s Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee on where he’s seen Nick Smith Jr. develop as a player following Tuesday’s 111-104 home loss vs. the Orlando Magic (13 points/2 rebounds/3 assists/5-11 FG/3-7 3-PT).
(via Charlotte Hornets):
“So many areas of growth. I’ve been so happy with Nick. Defensively, I’ve noticed a little bit more attention to detail. I think that he’s always moving and has great energy and effort. I just feel like the attention to detail and the purpose behind his movements now has been a little bit more deliberate or intentional understanding who he’s guarding or what we wanna take away. So, proud of him for that, and he continues to kinda just wanna get better in that area.
“And then offensively, we’ve all seen how much he can score the ball. I’ve been really impressed lately (with) him simplifying. Less dribbles, and way more catch-and-shoot 3s. Getting to his spacing. Having better early shot prep to put him in a good position to be able to let it fly. And then, passing. I think he had a couple really great assists tonight to set up either a direct bucket or an indirect hockey assist. So just a ton of growth from him, and I think all these reps are very valuable for him.”
