Sion James entered his first offseason as a professional with three specific traits he wanted to improve on: ball handling, finishing at the rim, and shooting.
He was awesome on defense as a rookie (James ranked second on the Hornets in Defensive EPM with a +1.2 rating), which is no small feat for a first-year player in the most talented basketball league on the planet, but he had no plans to rest on his laurels. James is lauded for his work ethic, and the early returns from the countless hours he spent in the gym this summer are sterling.
James has been the Hornets' best two-way player in their trio of preseason contests. Not only has he defended like a mad man, that's just par for the course at this point, he's shown a level of competence on offense that has been necessary for a team down two of their three primary ball handlers.
"His decision-making has been really good, he's been shooting the ball well...Overall I love the impact he's been giving us offensively. He's another ball-handler, creator, and he's playing with a ton of confidence which I love," said head coach Charles Lee after the Hornets' 105-90 win over the Bucks earlier this week.
When asked about his confidence levels on offense, James had this to say: "I think decisiveness is a big thing. I think just experience, having done it before is helpful, so that fewer of the things that we're doing out here are new. So that gives me a little bit of confidence just to play freely and do what I'm supposed to do. I got a little bit more of an understanding of expectations, what coach wants to see on offense, on defense, and it makes it easier for me to execute."
James' teammates can feel the confidence radiating from the second-year guard, and they have full faith in Sion when he's handling the ball.
"As our point guard, we trust him to bring the ball up the court...Even more than that, he's a young leader which goes a long way in the NBA. His preparation every day is going to be a big standout for him."
Ahead of Charlotte's preseason game against the Celtics, Charlotte Hornets On SI got a chance to talk with James about his offensive development through the lens of two preseason plays that highlight his improvements.
Left-handed Drive and Finish Against Brooklyn
Halfway through the first quarter in Charlotte's preseason opener, James hauled in a rebound and commandeered the Hornets down the floor.
The offensive set starts with both corners filled with shooters (Royce O'Neale to James' left, Grayson Allen to his right), and Naz Reid patrolling the left wing. Sion gets freed up by an effective Ryan Kalkbrenner screen, he attacks the dropping center Moritz Wagner with a slight hesitation dribble, and drives around him to finish with his left hand.
The spacing around the ball handler is the crux of the play. James talked about the Hornets' 'running patterns' (my personal favorite Charles Lee-ism) and how the evenly balanced floor opened up the space for him to attack.
"It makes my job really easy for one. We space the way we do for a reason, and that's so that players will have the most amount of space getting downhill, making plays, and that we know what to expect from each other, and that we'll have enough space that it makes reads a lot more clear because, on that play, if guys weren't spacing the corners or wherever they're supposed to be, that's a lot more help on my plate, and then it makes it a harder finish."
The finish wasn't an easy one, but it's one that James has repped out countless times in practice. Those live repetitions made this lefty layup second nature for the ascending guard.
"The (coaching staff) makes (plays like this) easier for us because we practice everything so much, and we put everything in live situations. The whole idea of all the work that we do, is that by the time we get in games, we don't have to think about reads, but in our mind, we know things just because we've seen it before. So it's a little bit more helpful."
Pull-Up Three-Pointer Against Milwaukee
With the shot clock dwindling after Charlotte's initial action fails, the onus falls onto James to create a shot in the half court. James receives a pass from Liam McNeeley, uses another Kalkbrenner ball screen, and steps into a pull-up three-pointer and nails it.
Converting on these opportunities with some level of frequency will completely change the offensive outlook for James. According to NBA.com, he only attempted 28 pull-up threes in his rookie season, converting on nine of them. Of the four defined offensive play types by nbarapm.com: creation, spacing, transition, finishing; James' fewest number came in the creation category.
While he may never become a true on-ball force, his ability to step into three-pointers like he did against Milwaukee will open up things for himself, and his teammates.
"It remains to be seen," said the Atlanta native when asked about how the threat of a pull-up jumper will impact his game. "Overall it will give everybody more opportunities to create more space for the team...It just gives the defense one more thing to think about. One more thing to consider. It helps stretch them out further and opens up the paint a little more too."
With Coby White and Kon Knueppel's status for the season opener still in question, James could have an early-season opportunity to parlay his offseason work into meaningful production for the Hornets' ailing back court.
The nice thing for Sion, though? Is that even if all of the Hornets' primary ball handlers return for opening night in Brooklyn, he'll be just fine.
James' role malleability: his ability to shift from secondary creator, to lead ball handler, to floor spacer; is the guard's greatest trait. That combined with his prowess at defending up and down the lineup will get him burn no matter how well he produces on offense.
The arrow is pointing up for Sion James ahead of his second year as a pro, and the Hornets are better off, on both ends of the floor, because of it.
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