3 Reasons Charlotte Hornets Are Slowly but Surely Turning Their Season Around
Not too long ago, the Charlotte Hornets seemed like they were dead in the water, and who could blame fans for thinking that way? They were 10-24 with Al Jefferson and Lance Stephenson set to miss extended time. However, this ship has officially been steered back on course.
With seven wins in eight games, the Hornets are buzzing their way up the standings. Charlotte currently sits just a half-game behind the Brooklyn Nets for the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference with a record of 17-25. Jefferson and Stephenson have made their returns, but each guy is being eased back into action.
The big question is: how exactly a team that floundered so poorly early on could turn it around this quickly? How did a squad that dropped 10 in a row earlier this season with a roster at full strength pick itself up in such dramatic fashion?
Kemba Walker Put the Team on His Back
Another dose of bad luck has left the Hornets without Kemba Walker due to a knee cyst. The flashy point guard is the only reason Charlotte kept its head above water.
Walker had been averaging a monstrous 27.1 points over his last 10 contests before missing time. He was firing on all cylinders, and he hit seemingly every big shot down the stretch when his number was called. Walker's propensity for throwing daggers late in the fourth quarter has certainly continued to catch the attention of the NBA world.
According to Steve Reed of the News Observer, head coach Steve Clifford had no doubt Walker would come out of his funk and step up when the team needed him most.
"He has the game to go get a shot and, second, he has the courage to take it and make it whether he missed the game before," Clifford said. "And you don't teach that."
Walker and Stephenson did not have any success at all trying to coexist early in the season, but Walker has never looked better since Lance went down. Once both are healthy, this will be a huge story to keep an eye on, because the only way the Hornets can kick it into another gear is if these two figure it out together.
The Defense Is Back
Last year's Charlotte Bobcats won 43 games behind one of the league's most surprisingly impenetrable defenses. The Bobcats were fourth in the NBA last season, surrendering only 97.1 points a night.
That defense was a thing of the past until the calendar turned to 2015. The Hornets have crept back up those stat charts, now back in the top 10 at 98.2 points given up.
A big reason for that resurgence has been the play of young center Bismack Biyombo. Jefferson missed nine games, during which Charlotte went 6-3. Biyombo has only allowed 53.1 percent shooting at the rim this season, and he's provided this team with the rim protector it needed.
Charlotte has yet to give up 100 points to a team in the new year, allowing 89.8 points a night in that stretch. This means the Hornets are getting back to their bread and butter. Gerald Henderson has stepped into the starting lineup alongside the newly healthy Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. That length and athleticism on the perimeter has taken the pressure off the rest of the roster on the defensive end.
While the Hornets are also last in the league in steals over the last 10 games, this is actually a testament to their fundamental "stay at home" style of defense. This is a roster programmed to avoid selling out for steals and blocks, instead bodying defenders up, making proper rotations and dominating on the glass from every spot on the floor. Being last in steals allowed them to average 48.5 rebounds in that stretch as well.
Nice of You to Show Up, Role Players
Charlotte is obviously built around Walker and Jefferson, but this team wasn't going anywhere if the other guys didn't start pulling their own weight.
They have done exactly that in 2015. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is averaging a beastly 10.4 rebounds in the new year, to go along with his 10.6 points. The aforementioned Biyombo has been a blessing, posting consistent numbers on both ends, highlighted by a career-best performance in San Antonio against the Spurs on January 14 with 12 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks.
Clifford has also squeezed 15.4 points a game out of Henderson in 2015, and he's even gotten a block in every game from the rarely utilized Jason Maxiell.
Charlotte has seven guys averaging at least four rebounds in the new year, and that kind of balance has been invaluable when it comes to atoning for the losses of Jefferson and Stephenson. This should be beneficial to the team in the long run when everyone is healthy, as now the bench and the young guys have built up some confidence that should hopefully carry over into the coming months.
All stats are courtesy of ESPN.com, Basketball-Reference.com and HoopsStats.com and are current as of Jan. 19, 2015.
Justin Hussong covers the Charlotte Hornets and the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him at @Hussington.
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