Charlotte Hornets had their season end a little earlier than they wanted to this year. It was a slight disappointment for the team as they failed to meet the high expectations they had coming into this season after last season’s surprise playoff appearance coupled with the signing of Lance Stephenson.
Now as the playoffs are underway, the Hornets are absent after abysmal play and injuries affected them all season but now as the offseason comes, so does a little bit of spring cleaning. It begins with addressing some injury concerns in one of their young stars. Hornets forward Cody Zeller, who missed 19 of the final 20 games of the season with right shoulder injuries, recently underwent shoulder surgery.
Following from an official press release by the Hornets.
Charlotte Hornets forward Cody Zeller underwent successful surgery today to repair a tendon in his right shoulder, as well as remove a bone spur and scar tissue. The procedure was completed by Hornets Team Physician Dr. Marcus Cook at Novant Orthopedic Hospital in Charlotte. Zeller’s recovery time is expected to be approximately three months.
This past season for Charlotte, Zeller averaged career-highs with 7.6 points per game, 5.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 24.0 minutes in 62 games which included 46 starts. Zeller also participated in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend starting for the USA team. He scored 12 points on 6-7 shooting and grabbed four rebounds in 20 minutes played during the exhibition game.
His shining moment of the season was On Jan. 5, when he scored a then-career-high 20 points on 8-8 shooting from the field and 4-4 from the free-throw line against the Boston Celtics. He became just the fourth player in Charlotte’s NBA history to not miss a shot from either the field or free-throw line when attempting at least five field goals and at least four free throws.
