Swarm and Sting
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Charlotte Hornets’ Defense Slowly Declining Each Season

By Jerry Stephens

Dec 10, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) shoots over the defense of Charlotte Hornets center Frank Kaminsky III (44) during the second half at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 10, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) shoots over the defense of Charlotte Hornets center Frank Kaminsky III (44) during the second half at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Charlotte Hornets have been known for their stout defense in recent seasons but it has slipped a bit this year and isn’t up to their usual standards yet.

Since Steve Clifford has arrived in 2013, the Charlotte Hornets have had one of the best defenses in the league each season. While they have enjoyed top-10 years in opponents points per game and defensive rating, they have gotten slightly worse each season since Coach Clifford’s arrival. This season, they are on pace for their worst defensive year under Clif.

For whatever reason, the team’s defense has not been up to par so far this season and it doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon. It is not a good sign for a team that uses it’s strong team defense to energize their offense. They rely on their defensive to give them an edge and an upper hand on their opponents and the poor defense so far this year shows that Charlotte will struggle if their defense falls behind.

Before Clif got to Charlotte, the Hornets (then Bobcats) ranked 29th (second to last in the NBA) in opponents points per game at 102.7 and 30th (last in the league) in defensive rating at111.5. The most telling stat was that they allowed their opponents to score 100+ points 52 times in the 2012-13 season. (Basketball-Reference.com)

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When Steve Clifford first got to the Queen City, he revitalized defense and made it a priority for the team. They immediately shot to the top of the league in defense stats. The Hornets were 4th in OPPG at 97.1 and 5th in defensive rating at 103.8. They also only allowed 100+ points in 29 games. (Basketball-Reference.com)

That was peak Clifford defense. Each season since, the team’s numbers have slightly declined. In the 2014-15 season, Charlotte ranked 7th in OPPG at 97.3 and 9th in defensive rating at 103.5. Their opponents scored 100+ points in 37 games as that number continued to increase each year. (Basketball-Reference.com)

Even last year the team was still top-10 at 9th in OPPG with 100.7 and 8th in defensive rating 104.3. The opposition also scored 100+ points in half of the Hornets’ games (41) which was the highest mark since before Clifford got to Charlotte. (Basketball-Reference.com)

The trend has continued this season but has become worse as they have dropped outside of the top-10 in both OPPG and defensive rating for the first time in five years. They are currently 13th in OPPG at 104 and 10th in defensive rating at 106.7. They have allowed 100+ points in 25 out of 29 games and are on pace to allow 52 in total which would match their mark in the 2012-13 season when Coach Clifford wasn’t there. (Basketball-Reference.com)

Next: Five Potential Mid-Season Trade Targets for Charlotte

Luckily for the Charlotte Hornets, there is still time to turn things around and change this trend. They will need to get better on the defensive end if they want to compete not only for a division title but also for a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference and a chance to get out of the first round. They should be a better defensive team with guys like Nicolas Batum, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Roy Hibbert on the roster but it just hasn’t been up to par so far this season.

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