Was Charlotte Hornets' 2013-14 Defense Just a Fluke?
Fans and media members alike believed the Charlotte Bobcats were officially going out with a bang. They had finally turned a corner, despite getting swept by the Miami Heat in the playoffs, and had already put together an incredible season with much hope for the future of the Charlotte Hornets behind a revamped defense.
The first quarter of the 2014-15 season has many wondering if that Bobcats defense from 2013-14 was a fluke. So far, there is no reason to believe that it wasn't. While Charlotte has created a new teal and purple identity off the court, it has lost its identity on the hardwood itself.
Steve Clifford's first season as head coach was not without its hiccups, but he instilled a tenacity in this team that was radiant on a nightly basis. The Hornets weren't often the most talented team on the floor, but they never played at anything less than full throttle. Defensively, the chemistry was palpable, as nearly every player performed at a higher level than most projected.
So what happened? Was Al Jefferson's season as a rim protector an outlier? Did Josh McRoberts' departure mean more than we thought?
Let's try to make some sense of all this.
The Century Mark
Charlotte has surrendered 100 points or more in 14 of its 20 games, including each of the past six. The Bobcats of last year gave up triple digits in just 27 of 82 games, only allowing opponents to hit 100 in three consecutive games once.
Holding opponents under 100 is pivotal in the NBA for all teams, but even more so for a team that is unable to light it up on offense. The Hornets are not the Dallas Mavericks or San Antonio Spurs. They cannot win shootouts at all due to an unwillingness to run in transition for easy buckets and an inability to convert with any efficiency in the half court.
This is a squad that lost a game 71-69 earlier this season to the Memphis Grizzlies on Nov. 1. Last year, this team only won five games when allowing 100-plus in regulation, and just won its first contest of that variety in game No. 20 of this season.
This team's newfound propensity to give up points in bunches is very unbecoming. When you go from fourth in the league in scoring defense down to 21st, there is a good chance that win column will be much emptier.
The Stat Sheet
When using the stat sheet to find some reasons why Charlotte has struggled on defense, a couple of things stick out.
Primarily, the Hornets are last in the league in opponent's assist-to-turnover ratio. Charlotte played defense last season by swarming each man, executing fundamentally without fouling and collectively boxing out. Charlotte is still best in the league at preventing offensive rebounds and continues to not force many turnovers, but that facet may now be a problem. Teams are swinging the ball around in the half court more often to attack this sound defensive team.
The Hornets pack the paint and do not contest outside shots well, similar to last season. The problem now is that the opposition has caught on, and this method has lost its luster. Charlotte does not allow fast-break points, but this bunch is getting picked apart in the half court.
Another problem is that Charlotte is abysmal at starting its own fast breaks. This is a young, athletic team that has no business being last in the league at seven fast-break points a night. By not getting out for easy buckets, it puts entirely too much pressure on a half-court offense that has struggled mightily. Kemba Walker and Lance Stephenson are the worst and ninth-worst shooters, respectively, in the NBA right now.
The same way a boxer cannot allow his opponent to throw haymakers without any retaliation, the Hornets cannot continue allowing opponents to dictate the flow of the game. Walker and Stephenson could be nightmares in the open floor, as could Cody Zeller, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Gerald Henderson trailing them.
Easy transition buckets would have a spillover effect on this team's defensive woes. It would take more pressure off of an inefficient offense.
Individual Letdowns
Much of Charlotte's turnaround last year was due to the signing of Al Jefferson. He showed up and grabbed the leadership role by the throat, turning into a surprising force on defense.
Jefferson posted a career-best defensive rating of 100 in 2013-14. That number has since ballooned to his worst number in four seasons at 107 this year. The reason for this is up in the air, but Jefferson does appear to be playing less physically. His fouls are down and his rebounding numbers are significantly down to a career-worst 8.5 per 36 minutes.
Lance Stephenson's defensive rating is also at the worst rate of his career by a sizable margin. However, a huge problem might be that defensive maestro Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is out. The former No. 2 pick has caught a ton of flack for his putrid, albeit now improved jumper, but his value to this team is immeasurable on the defensive end.
Any chance Charlotte has of turning this puppy around on defense starts and ends with MKG. It is no coincidence that the Hornets are 2-3 in games he has started and finished this season, and a disastrous 3-12 in the others. This team is getting gashed by opposing teams' best wing players, and the feisty former Kentucky Wildcat is the only one capable of preventing it, which should not be the case. Stephenson was brought in to harass perimeter players right alongside him, but has been a massive letdown on that end of the floor.
His absence creates a hole that no one else can fill. A return will slide everyone else back to his normal spot on the floor and could alleviate many of Charlotte's problems. Here's to a light at the end of the tunnel and a "glass half full" mentality on this current situation. The Bobcats' swan song might have been a fluke, but MKG's void certainly makes things look worse than they might actually be.
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