Ty Jerome may be drawing plenty of the spotlight in Memphis, but Cam Boozer has made sure his own arrival has been impossible to ignore.
Through his first three NBA games, Boozer put up 48 points and 35 rebounds, making him the first player to hit both of those totals that fast since Shaquille O’Neal in 1992-93, according to NBA Stats. He’s also averaging 16.0 points, 11.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists, a line that puts him in the same statistical neighborhood as Elgin Baylor, as Andrew Wright of Yardbarker details.
That’s obviously not a Hall of Fame coronation after three games. But it is the kind of start that turns heads quickly.
The No. 3 overall pick’s best outing in that span came against the Warriors, when he posted 25 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. At 19, that made him the third-youngest player ever to log at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, trailing only Cooper Flagg and LeBron James, per the NBA.
Memphis has won all three of those games, and Boozer has given the franchise an early look at a player who brings more than just scoring. That matters even more for a team moving on after trading Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr.
Charlotte’s new-look roster has also shown some promising signs out of the gate. Naz Reid has averaged 20.0 points and 8.7 rebounds during the Hornets’ 2-1 start, while Grayson Allen has scored 20 or more points twice and knocked down 50% of his threes. Dennis Schroder has added 16.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, according to Wright.
For a team that has had to adjust after LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, that kind of steady production from offseason additions matters.
The Hornets have also been without Coby White, Kon Knueppel and Grant Williams, so there’s more help still to come. Once those players are back, Charles Lee should have more lineup choices and less pressure on the current group to carry the load.
The 47-point loss to the Hawks was a rough reminder of how much work remains. Still, wins over the Nets and Heat gave Charlotte something more useful than a lecture about patience.
San Antonio, meanwhile, may have found another name worth watching behind Victor Wembanyama. Rookie Tarris Reed Jr. earned the first crack at the opening of the fourth quarter in Saturday’s win over the Mavericks, and he responded with activity on defense and the glass.
That came after a preseason that already hinted at his potential, according to Kyle Pring of Yardbarker.
Luke Kornet is still the veteran choice at backup center, and one good stretch from Reed doesn’t change that by itself. But it does give Mitch Johnson another option when the second unit needs a jolt.
That kind of depth matters in San Antonio, where so much hinges on Wembanyama. The Spurs need someone who can help keep things steady while he rests, whether that ends up being the veteran or the rookie.
In Other News...
Brandon Miller Is Making Charlottes Massive Bet Look Very Different
Brandon Millers latest burst has given Charlotte something it has not always had around its young core: a wing scorer who can change the look of a night in a hurry. The Hornets forward has piled up 73 points over his last two games, and the surge has only sharpened the sense that his role in Charlottes long-term plans is growing by the week. The front office certainly acted like it believed that when it handed him a five-year, $209 million extension, a move that tied the franchise more tightly to his development.
What makes the stretch even more notable is the way Miller is creating offense, not just finishing it. Jeff Teague recently drew a comparison between Miller and a young Paul George, suggesting the Hornets forward may already have a more polished offensive package at this stage, even if George had a steadier rsum by the same age. For Charlotte, the bigger question now is not whether Miller belongs in the buildings future, but how quickly his latest scoring run can become the norm rather than the exception. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets 3-1 Start Faces Its First Real Road Test In Detroit
Charlottes 3-1 start gets its first true road exam in Detroit, and it comes against a Pistons team that has made life difficult for the Hornets in recent seasons. The matchup has long been uncomfortable for Charlotte because of Detroits physical style and the way it can crowd the floor with switchable defenders, which tends to squeeze the Hornets offense when shots stop falling.
The timing may help a little, with Detroit playing the second night of a back-to-back, but the Hornets still have to navigate a game that figures to test their patience and shot creation. With the Pistons missing Jalen Duren, Charlotte has an opening inside, yet the broader issue is whether the Hornets can handle a defense built to take away clean perimeter looks and force a young team into tough possessions. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Need Unexpected Help To Survive Detroits Toughest Test Yet
Charlottes latest matchup with Detroit comes with a reshuffled look on both sides, and that puts even more pressure on the Hornets supporting cast to hold up. The preview points to a game shaped by absences and by the players who will have to absorb those minutes, with the focus landing on Dennis Schrder, Brandon Miller and Cade Cunningham as the main names likely to define the pace and tone of the night.
For Charlotte, the challenge is less about matching Detroits talent than surviving the matchup without several familiar pieces and finding enough reliable offense and defense from the next group up. One of the more interesting questions is how the Hornets sort out their wing rotation and whether a new face can settle into a bigger role quickly enough to help against a Pistons team that is already making opponents work for every clean look. [Read more 🡒]