Don't look now, but second-year point guard Devonte' Graham might be the Most Improved Player in the NBA this season.
After questionably signing Terry Rozier to a three-year, $58 million deal because he was equivalent to a 2019 lottery pick, the Hornets seem to have stumbled upon an even better point guard.
Around this time last year, I mentioned the potential of Graham after his amazing senior season at Kansas University, but even I didn't see averages of 18 points and 7 assists on 41% from deep in just his second year; chances are, neither did Rozier when he chose to sign.
The most impressive added element of Graham's game has been his Kemba-esque confidence operating in the pick-and-roll and his pull-up jumpers.
At 2.2 made pull-up threes per game, Graham is tied with Luka Dončic and trails only Kemba Walker, Damian Lillard and James Harden for best pull-up, three-point shooter.
One of those names is not like the others.
The feat becomes even more impressive when you take into account the rate that Graham is making his pull-ups; at nearly 47%, Graham is leading the league with only Damian Lillard ranking near. However, Graham's deep shooting ability plays second fiddle to his uncanny ability to finish at the rim despite being only 6'2.
According to Basketball Insider, Graham is shooting 71% at the rim, making him an all-around scoring threat off the pick-and-roll in today's NBA. The threat posed by Graham's scoring ability locks more eyes on his attacks and creates easier scoring opportunities for his teammates, evidenced by his 14.3% assist to pass ratio. Only pass-first point guard Tyus Jones ranks higher than Graham among backup point guards in assist percentage.
All of these numbers would mean absolutely nothing if Terry Rozier was outperforming Graham, but he's not. And if past number tell us anything(they tell us almost everything), Rozier isn't capable of doing the things his backup has displayed. The irony.
Graham currently leads the Hornets in points, assists, assist to turnover ratio and player efficiency rating all while shooting better than 40% from the field and deep.
Meanwhile, Rozier is attempting the most field goals per game on 39% shooting from the field and 34% from deep with a player efficiency rating below 12; for context, an efficiency rating of 15 is regarded as average.
The difference between Rozier and Graham is clear to anyone who watches a Hornets game. Charlotte moves the ball more, plays faster and puts more pressure on the opposing team with the Kansas point guard leading the team. Head coach James Borrego knows it because Graham is the only Hornet player to play every second of the 19 "crunch time" minutes the team has been involved in so far this season.
If general numbers, observation, and the coach's opinion aren't enough then the advanced numbers should be the final nail in the coffin, as Charlotte outscores opponents by 15.8 points per 100 possessions with Graham on the court compared to the bench, per NBA.com/stats. Graham is also the only Hornets player averaging above 20 minutes per game to have a positive plus/minus; Rozier is second-worst on the team at -69.
Should Graham continue to keep up his current pace, Charlotte may have the perfect Kemba Walker replacement, and it's not the guy they're paying $58 million.
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