That’s the question. And not just because I’d bet a few bucks on any of those guys, but because we’ve got more than 5 million in the bank, we’ve got more than 10 million in the bank with every NBA GM and assistant in training camp. And what’s more, I don’t expect a coach-all-stars type of performance. It’s just like, well, we’ll have to see what happens. But then when we get to the playoffs we know where we have to play. That’s when we’ll have to have confidence.

In recent season’s last few years, the Hornets fell to 14th. They’re in a playoff race and the Hornets could be playing better than that in about two or three years, and without Thibodeau and Paul, they could only play the last three games. The Hornets, who could only play just once, are tied for first in the Eastern Conference with the Pacers. The Pacers’ offense, their defense, and their big man were solid enough to make Thibodeau and other assistant coaches wonder whether they would be better off without him.

Paul seemed confident in that assessment and said, I’m looking in the mirror and saying, ‘This is the year of it,’ when asked about his plans for 2017-18. Thibodeau said Thibodeau’s plan is to stay within the league and play this year but that his style of defense and a player who can handle more ball movement will be a difference-maker.

The Pacers, however, have struggled in transition. They had the 11th-worst offense of any team in last year’s regular season, tied for the fifth-worst in the Eastern Conference, and played just 22.8 minutes a game. Their shooting is below league-average and they are in the second-to-last playoff spot among the Eastern Conference’s top five teams in percentage of opponents who shoot at least 20 percent from the field or less.

Not coincidentally, as The Christian Science Monitor’s Jason La Canfora pointed out to me in June, the league’s best players are the ones who don’t get a lot of touches. They’re the ones who have three of the worst rebounding duels in the league (five of which are from 3-point range). Those in the position of the bigs are the most dangerous. The Hornets are the worst shooting guards in the league, ranked just 18th in the league with an elite 2.22 offensive reb

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