Sion James Making Strong Early Impression For Hornets

Second-round pick Sion James is showing the Hornets that he’s ready to play consistent minutes right away, observes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Taking advantage of the opportunity presented by Brandon Miller‘s injury, James has made three starts already and is averaging 8.8 PPG while shooting 70% from three-point range. He’s also contributing on defense, which is something teammate Tre Mann expected when he first saw James in person. “It was first, the physical aspect, just seeing him — he’s huge,” Mann said. “And then my first thought was Lu Dort. Just seeing him work out. I was like, ‘OK, nobody can score on him right now. And I was like, Lu Dort again.’ Then I started doing research, looking at his film like, ‘Oh, he was a scorer. He used to score the ball. He’s good offensively, too.’ “And I was like, ‘OK, we’ve got to have him. He’s versatile.”