Liam McNeeley said it as plain as he could after the Charlotte Hornets’ Summer League opening win over the Orlando Magic: “That boy can rebound.”
Hannes Steinbach’s prospect profile was headlined by his ability to impact the possession game by dominating the offensive and defensive glass, and he did exactly that in his first game action as a member of the Charlotte Hornets. Steinbach started slow, but he would up amassing an impressive stat line of 15 points, a game-high 11 rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal.
Hannes’ hands are essentially vacuum cleaners. When he had the chance to get them on a loose ball, he secured it more often than not. And if he didn’t haul in the rebound himself last night, Steinbach was awesome at creating second and third chances for his teammates by pursuing the pill with relentless energy and physicality.
He proved to be more than just a rebounder, though.
On two occasions in the first half, Steinbach caught the ball in the right corner, attacked a closeout, and drove downhill. On the first drive, the first-year big man finished at the basket with an up-and-under scoop layup that highlighted his burgeoning skill level around the cup. On the second, he drew a hard foul, got to the line, and calmly knocked down the two-point free throw.
He finished with both hands, looked comfortable with the speed of the quasi-NBA game, and relished the chance to create space with physicality around the basket — Steinbach was as advertised as a scorer. The 14th overall pick even had a couple of nice moments as a passer, most notably on the right wing late in the third quarter when Charlotte ran a nifty high-low action with a flex screen to free up Ryan Kalkbrenner in the paint.
As a defender, Steinbach acquitted himself well, most notably by moving his feet well on the perimeter. Steinbach doesn’t have the height of most centers, but his wingspan is enormous, and he leverages that length well when attempting to slow down players that have a quickness advantage over him.
It wasn’t perfect, and it comes with all of the normal caveates of Summer League, but Steinbach was up to the task in his first game out in the desert. There is more that I’d like to see moving forward from him this summer, most notably a couple of three-point attempts, but the baseline Steinbach put on tape late on Thursday night was exactly what you’d want from your first round pick in Summer League.
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