New Orleans Hornets' 6-0 Start: Fluke or for Real?

Six games into its season, New Orleans is just one of two teams (Atlanta Hawks) to remain unbeaten.  A perfect start for the Hornets (6-0) is surprising regardless of how it happened, but the manner in which they’ve won games is even more impressive.  Are they for real? 

Here’s a look at the primary takeaways from the team’s franchise record-setting start.

First and foremost, the Hornets looked polished on defense, both individually and collectively—something head coach Monty Williams has preached since day one.  Despite ranking in the middle of the league in blocks, steals and rebounding, the Hornets are third in total defense with 91.5 points allowed per game.  They’ve alternated well between man-to-man and zone, have catered to their athleticism by winning turnover battles and have a competent superstar-guarder in Trevor Ariza.

As for the offense, it looks balanced and diverse in its attacking schemes.  Ariza, though an inconsistent perimeter shooter thus far, is an athlete who runs the floor with Chris Paul and finishes off his point guard’s passes.  Marco Belinelli looks much more versatile than his initial billing as a three-point artist, showing good penetration ability and cultivating a sweet little floater shot.  They’ve displayed unusual offensive patience for a young team with good ball movement and unselfishness in their motion attack.

The low-post game has done much better than expected on both ends, led by Emeka Okafor’s 26-point explosion against the Heat, when the Hornets scored nearly half their total points in the paint.  The starting center leads the league in field goal percentage (.718), is eighth in blocks (six) and has brought the scrappiness and physicality under the basket to account for size disadvantages against the likes of Andrew Bogut and Yao Ming.

The bench rotation is taking shape, and the practice of running a three-guard set is looking increasingly commonplace for New Orleans.  Not only are players maintaining defensively sound, fast-paced basketball off the bench, they’re beginning to define their niches on a team whose 10-man rotation has started erasing fans’ depth concerns. 

Jerryd Bayless isn’t CP3, but he’s quick and has the vision to spread the ball and the opposing defenses.  Willie Green has shot well consistently from mid-range, and while Marcus Thornton has struggled more with his shooting, he’s becoming a good slasher who gets to the rim and finishes.  And D.J. Mbenga provides defensive consistency off the bench with his size and blocking abilities.

But the biggest and newest surprise has to be the play of Jason Smith.  Standing seven-feet with a dangerous mid-range jumper—Smith runs and handles the ball well for a big man and contributes some much-needed rebounding off the bench.

The sixth man in the NBA is traditionally a shooting guard or small forward—an athletic swingman valued primarily for streaky scoring and offensive dynamism.  Smith gave New Orleans just that against Houston and Miami, getting eight points in his first 11 minutes alone against the Heat.  But from the team standpoint, he’s more than an offensive role player because he addresses the concerns coming off the bench, most notably rebounding and defending.  If the sixth man is defined by his ability to fill the team’s voids off the bench—Smith is undoubtedly the guy for New Orleans.

So have there really been any subpar facets to the Hornets game so far?  They’ve had bad shooting streaks, stretches of being out-rebounded and occasional defensive breakdowns—the typical ups and downs of any team. 

It’s still too early to make definitive predictions on where this team will finish, but there’s no question that the Hornets, barring an 11-game losing streak, have already exceeded expectations for the first quarter of the 2010-2011 season.  Confidence is high, if they can build on it, polish their chemistry and maintain the solid defensive and bench play we’ve seen so far, they’ll be a tough out for any team in the league.