Why the Charlotte Hornets' Offense Needs a Complete Overhaul
With the Eastern Conference's No. 7 and No. 8 playoff seeds serving as participation medals, the Charlotte Hornets are continuing their quest to obtain a berth as if they are running up a descending escalator. There is a strong chance they will not make it to the top, and they have fallen an incredible amount of times along the way.
But what are they working so hard for? What glory is there in being thrown to the Atlanta Hawks or Cleveland Cavaliers like a carcass to a pack of vultures? They fought tooth and nail last year only to see the season extended by four painful games at the hands of LeBron James' Miami Heat in a first-round sweep.
The only way to fix this problem is to completely overhaul the offense. It is something that has been hanging over the franchise's head for a couple of years. Charlotte cannot go another offseason with this current plan.
It won't be easy at all, but the issues that plague the Hornets have been blatant for two years.
Acquire Shooters
Charlotte is last in the NBA with a 31.3 percent three-point success rate. The team shoots more treys than just four other teams at just 18.5 a night.
If you look at the stats, what jumps out is the overall lack of success that teams have when they don't shoot from the outside. The Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies are 27th and 29th in the NBA in three-point attempts.
Both these squads are complete anomalies. Ten of the 14 teams who shoot the fewest amount of threes are under .500. Nine of the top ten in attempts are currently over .500. Washington and Memphis have figured out how to win behind powerful front lines, exceptional point guard play and stifling team defense. Charlotte has not captured that balance.
This league is becoming increasingly more guard-oriented. Seven-footers are shooting threes regularly. We are all being beaten over the head with analytics and how important they are.
Aside from Mo Williams' brief tenure, Marvin Williams leads this squad with a 36 percent success rate. Williams has cooled off and is now hitting just 34.4 percent. Kemba Walker is a slasher, not a shooter. P.J. Hairston's shot selection is too awful to label him a threat. Lance Stephenson left his jumper in Indiana when he signed as a free agent this past offseason. Gerald Henderson has never been more than respectable.
If the Hornets plan on keeping this many wing players who can't light it up, they will never be able to keep up with today's league.
Change the Offensive Philosophy
The Hornets have buzzed here and there of late. They began the month of March on a five-game winning streak, scoring 105.6 points per game over that stretch. How did they accomplish this? By finally running the floor like Steve Clifford wanted.
Despite that surge, Charlotte is still second-worst in the league in transition, according to teamrankings.com, scoring just 9.1 points per game. Even though it is so obviously a recipe for success for this bunch, it continues to neglect the open floor.
After winning five in a row, the Hornets wrote another predictable chapter to their inconsistent season by scoring in the 60s in two of the next four contests.
As for fast-break points? They scored five in a 94-66 massacring in Utah on March 16 at the hands of the Jazz, and they didn't even net a single transition point during a 95-69 March 9 laugher against the Washington Wizards.
Charlotte showed glimpses in the preseason that it would be much more of an open-floor squad. Lance Stephenson came aboard, along with two athletic rookies in Noah Vonleh and P.J. Hairston. However, the buzz never showed up.
Another major issue is the pace of play, which correlates to the issue with transition buckets. The Hornets are 19th in the league at 97.4 possessions a game, according to teamrankings.com. The ball movement is not fluid enough with Walker and Stephenson running the show, although it gets swung around the perimeter better with Mo Williams.
It is alright for Charlotte to stick to its bread and butter. Pick-and-rolls, post-ups and isolations with Walker and Al Jefferson are strengths of this team. The problem lies in the fact that they have no plan B. If those aren't working, the Hornets have no other ways of scoring.
Those problems would be mitigated by adding shooters and making a conscious effort to run the floor. There are too many athletes on this roster to neglect that aspect of the game.
Out with the Old, in with the New
With the season in limbo, you have to examine how the roster stacks up in the next year or two.
Regardless of what Charlotte would like to do, there could be a massive roster turnover as early as next year. Gerald Henderson and Al Jefferson have player options, and both could look to wrap up long-term deals elsewhere. Mo Williams and Jason Maxiell are unrestricted free agents. Bismack Biyombo and Jeff Taylor are restricted.
In 2016, Michael-Kidd Gilchrist hits restricted free agency, while Stephenson has a team option.
The bottom line is that Charlotte has to embrace a youth movement even more than it already has. It is conceivable that all the veterans could jump ship, which means guys like Zeller, Hairston, Vonleh and Walker will have to step up.
Given MKG's improvement, the Hornets cannot let him go. Ironically, Stephenson was brought in to be the versatile igniter, while MKG was looked at as the offensive black hole who cannot shoot. Those roles have been completely reversed.
This team has to start thinking about the future. It has been a lost campaign for both high-profile rookies, as Clifford has refused to give either Vonleh or Hairston consistent minutes. It is quite possible that these vets have overstayed their welcome. General manager Rich Cho needs to find more young talent this offseason and decide if and when he will choose to lock up Biyombo and MKG.
The core of this team is questionable, but it isn't getting any better with Jefferson and Stephenson. This franchise needs a deep offseason of reflection to determine whether it can win under the current regime. If not, spring cleaning will be in order.
All statistics are courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.
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