Just four seasons removed from the Bobcats’ infamous 7-59 season, this year’s Charlotte Hornets are poised to clinch a playoff spot behind excellent team basketball.
There are a few things that have contributed to the Hornet’s newfound success. Firstly, the additions have helped to counter injuries and a lack of experience. The additions of forward Nicolas Batum from the Trail Blazers, guard Jeremy Lin from the Lakers, guard Jeremy Lamb from the Thunder and guard Courtney Lee from the Grizzlies have added depth, talent and experience to one of the National Basketball Association’s youngest franchises.
Batum has been extremely dynamic, averaging 15.1 points a game along with 6.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists. Lin has filled many roles within the team. He started as just the backup point guard to Kemba Walker but now he is used in a two-point guard set that features them both. Lin averages 11.8 points per game as well as 3.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists. Lamb provides production off the bench, averaging 9.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. The most recent acquisition, Courtney Lee, has already shown he fits with the team as he starts and averages over nine points a game.
The revamped roster’s leader and point guard, Kemba Walker, has been playing at an All-Star level, helping to close out games with clutch shots while also facilitating and scoring throughout games. Walker is averaging 21 points per game with 4.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He was awarded Eastern Conference Player of the Week twice this season, and he also set the franchise record for points scored in a game with 52 against the Jazz Jan. 18. Also, earlier in the year, Walker was given serious consideration for the All-Star team when he was averaging 24 points and five assists a game.
Hard work and improvement has been the story for the Hornets this year. Some would say that head coach Steve Clifford was on the hot seat at the beginning of the year because of inconsistency since 2013, and the beginning of this season looked unpromising. The Hornets were below .500 for the majority of the first half of the season. Since the All-Star break, the Hornets have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA, with a record of 14-4.
Still on the topic of improvement, the Hornets’ most recent draft pick, Frank Kaminsky out of Wisconsin, has been improving throughout the season. Some fans were unhappy with the selection of Kaminsky in the 2015 NBA Draft because they felt that there were better options still available at the time of his selection, such as Justise Winslow out of Duke. Kaminsky has found his role with the team and is looking much better than he was at the beginning of the season. He averages 7.3 points (more than Winslow’s 6.4) and 4.1 rebounds per game.
Perhaps the most underrated and overlooked player on the team is forward Marvin Williams. His specialty is the 3-point shot. He is shooting a blazing 40.1 percent from three while averaging 11.5 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game. Williams’ production gives the Hornets the ability to keep up in games they are behind, as well as pull away from teams because of Williams’ ability to fly under the radar (teams are beginning to keep an eye on him now).
The Hornets currently sit in the sixth seed with a 41-30 record. Eleven games remain in the season, and the Hornets are in a tight race against the Hawks (41-30), Celtics (41-30) and Heat (41-29) for the No. 3 seed behind the Cavaliers and Raptors. If the Hornets can continue to stay hot, a three seed going into the playoffs is very feasible, which is almost hard to believe seeing how the first half of the season, as well as the past three years, have looked.
