<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/hornets-nick-smith-jr-2023-nba-summer-league');   ga('set', 'title', 'Hornets’ biggest concern about Nick Smith Jr. after 2023 NBA Summer League performance');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Hornets-Nick-Smith-Jr-NBA-Summer-League-Hornets-Summer-League-Nick-Smith-Jr-Hornets.jpg"></figure><h1>Hornets’ biggest concern about Nick Smith Jr. after 2023 NBA Summer League performance</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-07-18T12:43:01-07:00">July 18th, 12:43pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-07-18T12:43:01-07:00">July 18th, 12:43pm</time><address><a>Shervon Fakhimi</a>Shervon Fakhimi was born and raised in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and is an editorial writer at ClutchPoints. He is a big sports fan who dearly loves the Los Angeles Lakers, Green Bay Packers, and Arkansas Razorbacks.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Charlotte Hornets guard Nick Smith Jr.’s NBA stock has been all over the place over the past nine months. He entered college basketball as the number three recruit in ESPN’s Top 100. Obviously, that excludes Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson, who reclassified and was in the G League when he should’ve been a high school senior.</p><p>Smith was touted as potentially the best NBA prospect in college basketball before the 2022-23 season. Unfortunately, a knee injury suffered during the preseason derailed Smith’s debut with the Arkansas Razorbacks. He was in and out of the lineup, and even when he was, Arkansas’ team environment didn’t exactly optimize Smith’s game.</p><p>He needed a fresh start, a clean slate. Ater being drafted in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft by the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/2-biggest-things-hornets-learned-from-2023-nba-summer-league">Hornets, the Summer League</a> was a glimpse of that for him.</p><h2>Shot selection</h2><p>Nick Smith Jr.’s Summer League performance was good, not perfect. It did allow him to showcase the skillset and talent that made him a five-star recruit, but he still has areas of his game to address. The first would be shot selection and feel for the game.</p><p>Unfortunately for him, the Hornets filled their Summer League team with a bunch of combo guards like Smith Jr. who prefer to score rather than create for others. That led to a bunch of stalled, isolation possessions that went nowhere and ended with contested pull-up jumpers. Smith Jr. fell victim to these shots as well, which hampered his efficiency.</p><p>In six games, Smith Jr. scored 86 points on 34 of 83 (40.96%) shooting from the field and 10-for-31 (32.26%) from distance. He also registered 20 assists to 17 turnovers. In 17 games at Arkansas, he put up 29 assists to 27 turnovers. Turning some of those early clock jumpers into possessions with more ball movement can lead to better shots for the offense.</p><p>Attacking the basket is another area Smith Jr. could improve upon for the Hornets. Smith Jr. tends to prefer midrange jumpers, especially in pick and roll attacking drop coverage. His 6-4 170 pound is frame isn’t the most robust for taking contact, and that shows at the free throw line. In those six Summer League games, Smith Jr. attempted just 13 free throws, making eight of them (61.5%). However, he does have an excellent floater when he does get downhill and attack the paint.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Nick Smith Jr. shows off the smooth handle on this bucket 🔥</p><p>The Hornets first round pick is up to 30 PTS on the night!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBA2KSummerLeague?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBA2KSummerLeague</a> <a href="https://t.co/6yr3K7AZg1">pic.twitter.com/6yr3K7AZg1</a></p><p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1678951859501903872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2>Walking Bucket</h2><p>This leads to where Nick Smith Jr. excels: the man is an absolute bucket. Disregard the 47.2% true shooting percentage and 43.6% effective field goal percentage to a degree. While you certainly want someone to post better percentages than that, Arkansas had no shooting around Smith Jr. and Anthony Black was the other lone reliable creator who could consistently create shots for others. Even though Charlotte’s Summer League team was far from perfect, Smith Jr. had a ton more room to go get his. That extra space allowed Smith Jr. to get loose and deliver one of the best performances in all of Summer League when he <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/draft/newsfeed/nick-smith-jr-dominates-portland-in-summer-league-performance">dropped 33 points</a> on 13-20 shooting against the Portland Trail Blazers.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProHog?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ProHog</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/lif3nick?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@lif3nick</a> with 33 points tonight for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hornets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@hornets</a> along with 4 rebounds and 3 assists in the <a href="https://twitter.com/NBASummerLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBASummerLeague</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProHogs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ProHogs</a> <a href="https://t.co/7AGMJUciao">pic.twitter.com/7AGMJUciao</a></p><p>— Eric Musselman (@EricPMusselman) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricPMusselman/status/1678962537524789249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Smith Jr. did most of his damage with the ball in his hands in this game, but he also flashed spot-up shooting as well as movement shooting playing off the ball. That skillset should allow him to get some great looks playing alongside <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hornets-news-brandon-miller-reveals-lamelo-ball-conversations-draft-night">Hornets star LaMelo Ball</a>, one of the best playmakers in the NBA. One of Ball and/or Smith Jr. is going to have to pick it up defensively, but the combination of Ball’s supreme playmaking and Smith Jr.’s shooting and scoring should make a beautiful symphony in the Queen City.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/lif3nick?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@lif3nick</a> with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in tonight's <a href="https://twitter.com/NBASummerLeague?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NBASummerLeague</a> game for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hornets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@hornets</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ProHogs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ProHogs</a> <a href="https://t.co/K1JZopaEHA">pic.twitter.com/K1JZopaEHA</a></p><p>— Eric Musselman (@EricPMusselman) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricPMusselman/status/1676753688851886080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2>Moving Forward</h2><p>Nick Smith Jr. was the number three recruit in ESPN’s Top 100 amongst the 2023 recruiting class. He has a ton of talent, talent that wasn’t allowed to properly shine at Arkansas. That, along with a knee injury, led to Smith Jr. dropping all the way to the 27th pick. Even considering the setbacks the 2022-23 season threw at him, that was way too far of a drop.</p><p>Tyler Herro was a popular comp for Smith Jr. and it’s easy to see why. Both aren’t going to put a ton of pressure on the rim but can slide to their spots with the ball in their hands as well as stretch the floor without it. Tyler Herro is well within Smith Jr.’s range of outcomes. Smith Jr. can be one of the biggest steals of the 2023 Draft. If he can build upon his Summer League and become a better playmaker to go with his scoring ability, then he definitely will be. He’s got a very bright future with the Hornets.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Hornets’ biggest concern about Nick Smith Jr. after 2023 NBA Summer League performance

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/hornets-summer-league-brandon-miller-nick-smith-jr-breakout-performances');   ga('set', 'title', 'What Hornets’ Brandon Miller, Nick Smith Jr. Summer League breakout performances mean');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Hornets-Summer-League-What-Brandon-Miller-Nick-Smith-Jr.jpg"></figure><h1>What Hornets’ Brandon Miller, Nick Smith Jr. Summer League breakout performances mean</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-07-12T10:01:20-07:00">July 12th, 10:01am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-07-12T10:01:20-07:00">July 12th, 10:01am</time><address><a>Jerry Donatien</a>Jerry Donatien has worked for ClutchPoints since 2018. He is currently the company's Charlotte Hornets reporter, and he also does voiceovers on different sports stories. He worked the NBA All-Star weekend in 2019 and 2023, the NCAA woman's tournament, and he interned with Beasley Media group.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Charlotte Hornets dropped to 0-3 in Las Vegas Summer League play, but their two first round picks lived up to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hornets-news-brandon-miller-stays-out-victor-wembanyamas-shadow-mammoth-game-vs-blazers" rel="noopener">their pre-draft hype</a> against the Portland Trail Blazers. Brandon Miller and Nick Smith Jr. combined for 59 points. Smith Jr. had 33 points while shooting 65% from the field and 80% from deep. His ability to score on all three levels was on full display. While Brandon Miller poured in 26 points of his own. He’s struggled with his shot, fouling, and taking care of the ball in his first few Summer League games. Fortunately, his game looked more evident and well-rounded in the Portland loss.</p><p>Here’s what it means going forward.</p><h2><b>Brandon Miller’s all-around potential</b></h2><p>In Summer League, Miller has been used in a variety of ways in the Hornets’ offense. On and off-ball situations have forced him to make sound decisions in a pinch. He has not made the best decisions with the ball every trip down in Summer League, but against the Blazers he flashed his IQ. Getting hockey assists, not forcing up bad shots, and moving the ball to get better shots for himself or a teammate. As a scorer, Miller can get to the rack, draw fouls, and finish through contact for and-one opportunities, while also being a reliable three-point shooter. He shot 3-6 from deep against the Blazers.</p><p>Add in his potential to be a good weak side blocker, like he’s shown a few times in Summer League, and a solid 3&amp;D wing can be slotted in with LaMelo Ball and the Hornets.</p><h2><b>Nick Smith Jr. has microwave potential</b></h2><p>Nick Smith Jr. was a late first round pick with top-10 kind of potential. He can heat up in a hurry and score at all three levels comfortably. Shifty in the open floor to manipulate the defense to get what he wants in transition, it’s no surprise that he can flourish in Summer League play. He only dropped late in the first round because of an injury back in college. He has an opportunity to become the biggest steal in the draft.</p><h2><b>How they’ll fit with LaMelo Ball and the Hornets</b></h2><p>Both Miller and Smith Jr. have been used on and off the ball all summer long. Defining their roles and finding out where they fit in the rotation could be a little tricky to start out. Their starting lineup could be set in stone for the most part. LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier will likely be the starting backcourt, while the forward spots will be occupied by Gordon Hayward and Miles Bridges. The pair of first round picks could start off the season coming off the bench.</p><p>Still, that second unit can use a pair of dynamic young players. They’re still a young team trying to find that nucleus of players that compliment the talent that they already have. With Miller and Smith Jr., they’re trending in the right direction.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

What Hornets’ Brandon Miller, Nick Smith Jr. Summer League breakout performances mean

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/hornets-news-nick-smith-jr-steals-show-from-brandon-miller-performance-vs-blazers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Hornets’ Nick Smith Jr. steals show from Brandon Miller with juggernaut performance vs Blazers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Nick-Smith-Jr.png"></figure><h1>Hornets’ Nick Smith Jr. steals show from Brandon Miller with juggernaut performance vs Blazers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2023-07-11T20:04:07-07:00">July 11th, 8:04pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2023-07-11T20:11:02-07:00">July 11th, 8:11pm</time><address><a>Nick Meyer</a>Nick Meyer is a sports writer for ClutchPoints based in the Metro Detroit area. He has covered everything from Major League Baseball to the NFL, UFC, and College Football.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Charlotte Hornets and their fans have been enamored with the selection of Brandon Miller from Alabama for days now since the 2023 NBA Draft. What they didn’t expect was for Nick Smith Jr. to steal the show in the NBA’s Summer League on Tuesday.</p><p>Smith Jr., a 2023 first round pick out of Arkansas, lit up the scoreboard on Tuesday against the Portland Trail Blazers in what could one day be seen as his arrival onto the scene as a star.</p><p>The Hornets recently made <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hornets-big-mistake-2023-nba-free-agency">a surprising mistake in free agency</a>. They’ve made <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hornets-best-move-2023-nba-free-agency">plenty of great moves this offseason</a> however, and the drafting of Smith Jr. is starting to look like one of them. Smith scored 33 points on the day, catching fire and shooting over 50% from the field.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Nick Smith Jr. put on a SHOW against the Blazers 🪄</p><p>33 points<br>4 rebounds <br>3 assists</p><p>13-of-20 FG<br>4-of-5 3PT</p><p>Did the Hornets get a steal with the 27th pick? 🤔 <a href="https://t.co/ajvJh0ngHp">pic.twitter.com/ajvJh0ngHp</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPointsApp/status/1678953648091701248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Smith Jr. is a 6-foot-5, 185 pound guard. With his ability to put up points in bunches, he is the prototypical Southeastern Conference combo guard who can get hot in a hurry from downtown and is also equally comfortable on the defensive end at times. Together with Miller, the Hornets have suddenly gotten a lot more athletic and explosive, if Tuesday’s action is any indication.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">This is what happens when Nick Smith Jr. is fully healthy. Should NOT have fell to the late first round.</p><p>Unlimited bag of moves. So crafty. <a href="https://t.co/xNGHs9cgyu">pic.twitter.com/xNGHs9cgyu</a></p><p>— Will Whitson (@will_whitson2) <a href="https://twitter.com/will_whitson2/status/1678954686408269824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 12, 2023</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>If Smith Jr. is to live up to his potential as a first round pick with the Hornets, he will need to keep up the hot shooting. He shot just <a href="https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/nick-smith-jr-1.html">37.5% from the field</a> last season for the Razorbacks, scoring 12.5 points per game but leaving a lot of points on the table. Smith Jr. averaged 74% from the free throw line, a stat he could further mold into one of his biggest strengths with the Hornets as his career reaches its infancy stages in the league.</p><p>Along with Smith Jr., his teammate Miller has been <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/hornets-summer-league-4-brandon-miller-reactions-vegas-opener">drawing plenty of hyped reactions</a> from around the NBA. The hope now is that it continues into the Summer and beyond for a beleaguered Hornets franchise.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>