Eastern Conference Preview: The Charlotte Hornets could win the Southeast Division

With the Miami Heat on the decline, this could be the year the Charlotte Hornets win the Southeast division.

It’s been a crazy off-season, and the Miami Heat isn’t the only team to face major changes this summer. The landscape in the Eastern Conference has shifted, a Super Duper Team has been created out West and the Cavaliers are gearing up for another title run. Here at All U Can Heat, we will be talking with some of the experts from around the NBA and the FanSided network, getting their takes on the teams they cover as well as the Miami Heat.

To cover the Charlotte Hornets, we were joined by Jerry Stephens of Swarm And Sting, who was kind enough to answer a few questions.

All U Can Heat: Al Jefferson used to beat up on the Heat. How does Charlotte’s offense change without him?

Jerry Stephens: Big Al was definitely one of the best low post scorers in the NBA and he used to showcase those skills against Miami. Even though he is a great talent, I think the Hornets’ offense gets better without him. Charlotte embraced the fast paced, three-point shooting style of play last season and Jefferson only seemed to slow them down.

His back to the basket game allowed for defenses to key in on him while he was on the floor. He is a great passer out of the low post but most times the ball would stall when he caught it on the block.

Now that the Hornets have moved on from the Big Al era and have replaced him with younger players, Steve Clifford can truly run the style of play that he wants to. Expect to see more three’s and floor spacing this season.

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AUCH: Do you think Roy Hibbert can return to form?

JS: I’m not sure that Hibbert will ever return to his all-star form that he had with Indiana. He is a far cry from the player that he used to be. With that being said, I think that he can be a productive player with Charlotte and he will have a much better season than he did last year.

Roy Hibbert will now be playing with a successful team in the Hornets and he can focus on becoming a great defender once again. The Lakers had all kinds of troubles last year and with their lack of ball movement and scoring, Hibbert struggled. He won’t be asked to score with Charlotte.

He is still a big body and he may be able to regain some of his defensive form that he had a few seasons ago with the Pacers.

AUCH: A lot of Hornets fans were upset the team took Frank Kaminsky over Justise Winslow. What do you think a year later, and what kind of leap do you see Kaminsky making?

JS: I was one of those that were critical for the selection of Kaminsky last year. I thought the Hornets made a mistake by not selecting Winslow but now after a full season, I think they may have made the right decision.

I still expect Justise to be a great player one day but Frank wasn’t as bad as everyone expected. He was actually quite good and he contributed to the team immediately last season. Winslow is still a bit of a project while Kaminsky is a finished product. His three-point shooting ability also fits well with what the Hornets are trying to do.

I don’t expect a huge leap from Frank but he should be more conformable entering his second season in the NBA. I would expect him to get a few more minutes, see a slight bump up in his averages, and shoot slightly better from the field. I don’t think he will regress or have a sophomore slump.

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AUCH: Where do you see the Hornets finishing in Eastern Conference?

JS: After last season when they weren’t even supposed to make the playoffs and they finished tied for the third seed, I don’t put anything past this team. I don’t think they will be as successful as last regular season, but I do expect them to make the playoffs fairly comfortably.

I think that Charlotte will finish as a top-six seed in the East. The conference didn’t get a lot better this summer but neither did Charlotte so I could see them finishing anywhere from the third seed to the sixth seed.

With the somewhat weaker Southeast division this year, the Hornets have a chance to win their first ever division title.

AUCH: From an outsider’s perspective, what do you make of the Heat’s off-season?

JS: I think that the Miami Heat had a great offseason. They re-signed their top priority in Hassan Whiteside and they let aging veterans walk. They didn’t overpay for Dwyane Wade or Loul Deng and that will help them in the long run.

They also retained Tyler Johnson, who I think is a great player. The Heat got younger and while they may not be as good this year as they were last season, they have moved on from the Wade era and have begun to build around Whiteside.

I think the best move Pat Riley made was not re-signing Wade to a big deal. We saw how that can ruin a franchise for year in Los Angeles with Kobe Bryant. Not that it would’ve been that bad but building for the future is more important than giving Dwyane a big deal at 34 years old.

Next: How the Heat can build around Whiteside

Thanks to Jerry Stephens for taking the time to answer our questions. You can follow him on Twitter and read him over at Swarm And Sting writing about the Charlotte Hornets for FanSided.