The Hornets Are Clicking at the Right Time

This article can be seen in its entirety on Queen City Hoops. 

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The Charlotte Hornets, led by All-Star snub Kemba Walker, are gelling, and at the right time in a relatively open Eastern Conference.  

The first portion of the team's 2015-16 campaign was plagued by inconsistency and injury issues, as Al Jefferson and Nicolas Batum both missed double-digit games, and the team struggled to fit a excess of new players into the rotation. The team started decently strong – they were 9-6 through the first 15 games of the season – but they struggled to maintain the same level of play on a night-in and night-out basis as the season wore on.

There was a period of time from December 12, 2015 to January 29, 2016 where the Hornets lost 17 of 25 games, and were positioned firmly on the periphery of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. During that span the team dropped games to the Bucks, Suns, and the Pelicans and did not necessarily look like a team poised to make a playoff push.

Such early-season struggles were to be expected perhaps, as the team had to integrate a plethora of new, and central, pieces into the rotation. Nicolas Batum, Frank Kaminsky, Spencer Hawes, Jeremy Lamb, and Jeremy Lin were all added in the offseason, while Courtney Lee was swapped for P.J. Hairston near the trade deadline.

These weren't just fringe players that could be eased into an established lineup over the course of the season, but core members that would be central to the team's success. Two members of the team's current starting five were not on the roster last season (Lee, Batum) and the same goes for four key members of the rotation (Lin, Lamb, Hawes, Kaminsky). An extremely high percentage of the team’s total allotted minutes go to players in their first year with the organization. These players were not accustomed to playing for Coach Clifford, playing in Charlotte, and most importantly, they were not accustomed to playing with each other. Thus it is not so surprising that synchronization took some time. 

Along with new personnel was a new game plan, which resulted in a very quick about-face from a team that played a traditional, slower-paced game that relied heavily on a back-to-the-basket big, and placed little emphasis on three point attempts. The Hornets are third in both three point shots attempted and three point shots made per game in 2015-16, after being 24^th and 26^th, respectively, in those same categories just a season ago. The Hornets make 10.4 three pointers per game this season, less than only Golden State and Houston, and in turn they have come to exemplify the emerging style of play prevalent in the game today. Such a transition in a single seasons' turnaround time could be tough for an established team, let alone a team comprised of largely new pieces. 

In the month since the All-Star break, it seems that the Hornets have started to figure it out, as they have played some of the best basketball in the Eastern Conference. Since that stretch that saw Charlotte drop 17 out of 25 games, the team has won 12 out of 15, and climbed up to sixth in the East. The Cavaliers remain the Conference’s premier team, thanks solely to the presence of LeBron James, but they have looked increasingly vulnerable as of late – as has most every other team in the East – and the importance of momentum cannot be overlooked. Charlotte is playing good, cohesive basketball at the right time, as the playoffs approach.

The Hornets’ depth and versatility, due to the offseason and deadline additions, is a big factor in the team’s recent success, as is Kemba Walker’s stellar play and Al Jefferson embracing of a bench role. It didn’t occur immediately, but with the regular season winding down, it appears that the Hornets are gelling into a very formidable team, and doing so at the right time.