Southeast Notes: Hornets, Huerter, Mahinmi

Coach James Borrego is losing patience with the Hornets‘ defense and he’s not afraid to shake things up, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer relays.

“You have to value your time on the floor. This isn’t a God-given right to step on the floor and just go through the motions,” Borrego said recently. “If you’re not doing your job, if you don’t have great effort, if you’re not engaged from Minute 1, then I need to make a change — bring someone in off the bench or make a lineup change.”

Charlotte is 6-12 and the team has already started 12 different lineups this season. Borrego is searching for the best combination of players that will help the team win games regardless of each player’s contract status or seniority on the team.

As the Hornets look to right the ship, let’s take a look at more from the Southeast Division:

  • Kevin Huerter has been cleared to begin some on-court activity, Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com tweets. Huerter, who suffered a left rotator cuff strain earlier this month, will not play on the Hawks‘ upcoming road trip.
  • Wizards center Ian Mahinmi, who is in the final year of his four-year, $64MM deal, is close to returning to the court and the big man wants to prove that he has something left in the tank, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports reports. “This cannot be the end of this story,” Mahinmi told Hughes. “I’ve always wanted to be a valuable piece in that puzzle. So, in my mind, there’s still a lot of chapters left to be written.”
  • In the same piece, which is worth a read, Hughes compares Mahinmi’s game in Washington to his previous stop in Indiana and finds that the center’s per-36 numbers are actually slightly better with Wizards. “I’m a guy that wants to anchor the defense and who understands defensive principles. That’s who I am and what I can do,” Mahinmi said.
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