Charlotte Hornets: Rewind of the Oddly Successful 2015-16 Season
What Went Right?
The 2015-2016 Hornets campaign was not smooth sailing through and through. The team got off to a mediocre start. However, in a weak Eastern Conference, they found themselves still in the playoff hunt at 15-13 on Christmas.
After a seven-game losing streak to kick off the New Year, little did the organization know that they were on the precipice of one of their most successful stretches in franchise history.
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Kemba Walker and company established themselves as a serious threat in the Eastern Conference from that point on. Charlotte’s most notable period came from late-January to mid-March. The team accumulated an 18-5 record over the course of this stretch.
Some of the more notable games over this run included three wins over the playoff-bound Indiana Pacers and a beatdown of the eventual NBA Champion, Cleveland Cavaliers. The team was able to maintain this exciting brand of basketball the rest of the regular season, finishing with the franchise’s highest win total since 1999, while only losing five more games the rest of the way.
The Time Warner Cable Arena, as it was known then, was simply electric over the course of the first several months of 2016. This wouldn’t be a proper rewind if we didn’t ask; what made this Hornets team click? In short; Clifford and his staff fully embraced the pace and space era of NBA basketball.
Opponents ran into many problems defensively for the rest of the season. Charlotte ranked fourth in both three-pointers attempted and made for the year. Furthermore, to abolish that thought this team was simply of a bunch of ‘chuckers,’ the Hornets ranked eighth in three-point percentage as well.
The offense simply started gelling well together as evidenced by finishing ninth in offensive rating on the season. The pace was a noticeable factor in this shift. The team put over 100 points in 19 out of their last 24 games, compared to only accomplishing this feat 11 out of their first 24 contests.
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The team’s defense wasn’t too shabby as well. They placed top 10 in the NBA for defensive rating when all was said and done.
Another highlight of this Hornets team was its bench. Charlotte’s depth ranked amongst the best in the league, as they were able to give players such as Walker and Marvin Williams a rest from carrying the offensive load.
A unique aspect of this bench mob was the variety of looks it could give Clifford. If he wanted to slow the offense down and establish a post presence, he could throw Al Jefferson in the game for stints. If he wanted a shooting centric lineup, he could’ve trotted out the likes of Jeremy Lamb, Walker, Courtney Lee or Kaminsky.
Lastly, if the Cavaliers potent offense were coming to town, for example, the team had stoppers such as PJ Hairston or Nicolas Batum that could’ve been featured.
It was this variety of looks that could give any team trouble. The uniqueness of lineups Clifford threw out on the floor made it difficult for opponents to prepare for Charlotte. The Hornets had 17 different lineups that yielded net positives that season, compared to only 13 the eventual NBA Champion Cavaliers did.