7 Charlotte Hornets

Success came quickly for Baron Davis, but it didn't inflate his head. After leading the surprising Hornets to within one win of the Eastern Conference finals, the 22-year-old Davis celebrated by working harder than ever during the off-season. He spent his vacation playing in three summer leagues simultaneously, training and practicing religiously and later quarterbacking the U.S. to the gold medal at the Goodwill Games.

By the time he arrived at the Hornets' training camp in early October, Davis was nearly exhausted. Coach Paul Silas, the former Celtic and Sonic who won three rings as a player and knows a winner when he sees one, told Davis to prepare for the season by taking it a bit easier. "That's why our legs were fresh in the playoffs, because Coach Silas has a good feeling for when to push us and when not to push us," says small forward Jamal Mashburn. "Baron is just going to keep getting better. I played with Jason Kidd his first few years in the league, and Baron reminds me of Jason—except Baron has more athletic ability."

At the start of training camp last year, Davis was merely hoping to establish himself as a starter after a frustrating rookie campaign. Now he imagines himself hitting the shots that could put Charlotte into the NBA Finals for the first time. His rigorous off-season regimen left him with a more muscular upper body and, he says, a better touch from long range. Even before the summer Davis displayed a deadlier jump shot, as his field goal percentage leaped from 42.7% during the regular season to 48% in the playoffs. Still, he sees room for improvement. "I could have played better last year," says Davis. "At times I lacked aggression, but that's going to change this year. We're going to always be on the attack and playing to my abilities, my strengths."

Davis will miss sixth man Eddie Robinson, who signed with the Bulls as a free agent after an eye-opening season in which he proved to be Charlotte's best finisher in transition. However, executive vice president Bob Bass offset that loss by filling out the bench with experienced players who should be able to keep up with their ambitious young point guard. "Last year we couldn't afford to run, because I had to rely on our first five or six guys to give me some big minutes," Silas says. "I'm happy because we're bringing back our starting five, and now we have a second unit to give them some rest."

The newcomers include defensive-minded forward Stacey Augmon, three-point threat Matt Bullard and point guard Bryce Drew, who will come off the bench to spell Davis. Drew should also take some heat off shooting guard David Wesley, who had to pull extra shifts last year backing up Davis at the point.

The most important addition to the second unit may be the familiar face of power forward Derrick Coleman, who says that he's determined to overcome his disastrous performance of 2000-01, when he fell out of shape while undergoing treatment for an irregular heartbeat. The 34-year-old Coleman is a career 17.9 -points-a-game scorer who could be vital to the Hornets. They averaged 91.9 points per game last season, sixth worst in the league. Coleman will also help lessen the load on the offensively challenged P.J. Brown, whose feverish devotion to shooting practice this summer was a response to the likelihood that opponents will exploit the new rules by double-teaming Mashburn and Davis while daring Brown to make mid-range jumpers.

Injuries, Coleman's ills and Davis's inexperience contributed to the Hornets' erratic regular season, when they were either horrid (with a half-dozen losing streaks of four games or more) or torrid (five stretches of four to seven victories in a row). Davis prefers to focus on last year's playoff run. "We outran Miami, and we ran right with Milwaukee," Davis says. "Those playoffs gave us something to build on."

Yet curiously, even with all their promise, the Hornets' anticipation must be tempered. The playoff landscape in the East is more crowded this season, and Charlotte will be tested early, when it goes on the road for 14 of its first 21 games. And the greeting may not be all that warm at home. Season-ticket sales are down in anticipation that the Hornets will move after this season; in June the citizens of Charlotte voted to reject construction of a new, $342 million arena. "I just sense that our guys understand what they're up against, and they're going to be ready," Silas says. "If people are looking past us, that's fine with me."

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