The Charlotte Hornets Are Fading — Fast

NEW YORK — With the New York Knicks already up big in the fourth quarter, Immanuel Quickley missed a step-back three and center Mitchell Robinson came flying through the air for a ferocious putback slam. All Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford could do was call timeout and shake his head as his players headed back to the bench. 

It was another frustrating night for Charlotte, an all too familiar feeling this season. The team fell to a 5-11 record after a 115-91 loss at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.

Two years ago, the Hornets looked like an ascending team guided to the play-in by their dynamic lead guard LaMelo Ball. But last year, his season began and ended the same way: injured. First an ankle sprain and then a fracture that required surgery to fix. The team’s stock plummeted without their dynamo, landing atop the lottery odds.

Charlotte had the potential to pick up where they left off in 2022: it added Brandon Miller with the second overall pick in the NBA draft, extended PJ Washington and Miles Bridges and reinserted Ball into the fold. Instead, the team has fallen into limbo in a competitive Eastern Conference and Ball sidelined again with another ankle injury.

The Hornets have struggled offensively despite having a point guard that is top five in assists and capable shotmakers. They rank 25th in the NBA — and paired with the league’s 29th-worst defense, it’s easy to see why Charlotte sits with the 28th-worst net rating.

The team is 27th in three-point attempts per game and 21st in three-point percentage. The team shot well Tuesday, going 13-of-31 from downtown. Yet, Charlotte’s 91 points against New York was 22 points less than their season average. The Hornets’ offense would be even worse if not for arguably their strongest skill: offensive rebounding. Second-year center Mark Williams has been especially dominant in this area, currently third in the league in offensive rebounds with 4.2 per game. 

In the third quarter Tuesday, Williams warded off New York’s Mitchell Robinson for a contested board, eluded Julius Randle and laid in a contested reverse layup that was pivotal in Charlotte’s run before the Knicks re-extended their lead.

Williams played sparingly last season after being selected out of Duke with the No. 15 pick in the 2022 draft. Now elevated as the full-time starting center, he is averaging 13.4 points, 10.2 boards and shooting 67.4% from the field. In 26.7 minutes per game, Charlotte is 15.5 points per 100 possessions better with Williams on the floor. 

“I think he's great. Again, it's his second year, but last year he didn't play a lot early in the year. He hasn't played a ton of games,” Clifford said. “This is new for him too and I think he's handling it great.”

Defense has been Charlotte’s downfall. The team struggles to contain dribble penetration, allowing 36.2% of opponent shots to come at the rim. Not only are teams getting into the paint with ease, but they’re shooting 66.8% on such attempts. Early in the fourth quarter, this statistic was brought to life as Knicks forward RJ Barrett collected a rebound, coasted down the floor and swept through the lane for a left-handed finish with a foul. A possession later, Josh Hart did the exact same thing: eurostepping through the Hornets’ defense prompting a Clifford timeout. 

Injuries have not helped Charlotte, either. Terry Rozier missed nine games with a groin injury and backup center Nick Richards has also missed the last five games with a concussion. Now their star point guard will miss multiple weeks. 

Ball was the Hornets’ engine. The third pick of the 2020 NBA draft was averaging 24.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game, on track for the most efficient season of his young career. He is a creative, willing and wowing passer who ranks in the 91st percentile amongst guards in assist percentage.

Aside from his flashy playmaking ability, the most impressive part of Ball’s game continues to be his three-point shooting. He is more than willing to pull up from well behind the arc, with 42% of his total shot attempts being threes.

“Through all the stuff we went through last year, they really never showed much angst. The other night on the sideline, they did. It's part of the NBA. Like I told them, ‘You gotta hope that it's going to turn around and we'll get him back,’” Clifford said. “We'll have a stretch where we have our whole team because when we do and we get a little bit more organized, I think we can be very good.”

Miller, who was drafted with the second overall pick out of Alabama in June, is another bright spot who has immediately paid off. He has quickly become one of Charlotte’s most impactful players and a solution to their defensive woes. The Hornets are 8.5 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor. While Miller is averaging 14.3 points and 4 rebounds on 46.4 % shooting from the field, he’s displayed strong instincts, using his 7-foot-1 wingspan to disrupt shooters and deter rim attacks. Opposing teams shoot 5.1 % worse from three and 2.6% worse at the rim under Miller’s watch.

“When Terry was out, Brandon was guarding the other team's best perimeter player a lot. He has size, he has instincts. He competes very naturally. He has a defensive mindset,” Clifford said. “The hardest part, in my opinion, for any young player is pick and roll defense and he's actually picked that up pretty quickly too.”

Miles Bridges has also been impactful in his return from a 30-game suspension that began last year, a result of a domestic violence incident involving the mother of his children. Since rejoining the team, the Hornets are allowing 7.6 fewer points per 100 possessions. The lineup featuring Ball, Miller, Hayward, Bridges and Williams has been their most effective grouping.

The team has also begun to clean up its defensive act a bit, trending away from the league’s basement over its last five games. But without Ball, it seems to be a futile effort as their offense, in a small sample size, cratered without his production. 

Clifford believes that this early season adversity may help form the team’s identity.

“It's all how you handle it … They're disappointed. Our efforts tonight were really good. Our purpose of play was not,” he said. “That's what you have to learn from.”

Charlotte will have to adapt quickly to save the season, despite the second-most difficult remaining schedule in the NBA. With Ball on crutches, the task gets increasingly more daunting. While adding another lottery pick to the talent pool could be the jumpstart the Hornets need, it’s way too early to start praying for ping-pong balls — but that might just be their reality.