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After one extremely underwhelming season with the Charlotte Hornets, Lance Stephenson is looking to rebound this year with the Los Angeles Clippers. After a career year with the Indiana Pacers the season before — including a strong postseason — Stephenson was ready to make his mark in Charlotte. However, after an inconsistent month and a half, an injury forced him to miss 14 games. Charlotte went 9-5 in that span and after he returned, Stephenson failed to crack the starting five the rest of the year. All of that culminated in Stephenson being traded to Los Angeles this offseason.
Stephenson recently reflected on his one, highly inefficient season in Charlotte, placing most of the blame on the team and the way they chose to use him. Many predicted Stephenson could be a star in Charlotte, but according to him, he was just “sitting in the corner” and wasn’t getting enough touches. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.
One of the major reasons for why Stephenson wasn’t getting the ball was because he wasn’t producing when he had it. He had just one game last year where he scored 20 points or more and scored less than 10 points in more than half the games he appeared in. Stephenson’s shooting numbers were atrocious and his numbers dropped significantly from the previous season with the Pacers. Combine that with the fact that Charlotte has players like Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson who can produce on a nightly basis, and it’s easy to understand why Stephenson’s touches should be limited.
According to Stephenson, “a star normally gets the ball.” In this case, they did — Walker and Jefferson. Unfortunately for Stephenson, he’s in the minority when it comes to labeling himself a star. Yet, now he thinks in Los Angeles it’s going to be different. He’s convinced that the team will use him properly. Stephenson better temper his expectations or he’s going to be in for a rude awakening.
If he was frustrated by the lack of touches in Charlotte, that frustration is only going to be exacerbated in Los Angeles. The Clippers’ roster is loaded with talent, much more so than the Hornets. Forget about the starting five because Stephenson will be coming off of the bench. He’ll still be sharing the floor with guys like Jamal Crawford, Josh Smith, Austin Rivers, Wesley Johnson and more. Crawford has been Los Angeles’ go-to-guy off the bench for the past three seasons. Smith has never seen a shot he didn’t like, and Rivers and Johnson are both talented young players. Stephenson better get used to sharing the ball.
Derek McVay is a Boston Celtics and NBA featured writer for www.RantSports.com. He also contributes to the NFL. Follow him on Twitter @mcvay34, or add him to your network on Google.
