The Hornets Are Suddenly Playing Better Basketball

So far this season, the Charlotte Hornets have won just 20 of the 64 games they’ve played. But since trading away their starting center for practically nothing, they had won five straight games in a surprising fashion until they were defeated by Phoenix in Kevin Durant’s Suns’ debut on Wednesday.

Many Hornets fans online, including myself, expressed mixed emotions on the day of the trade deadline after hearing the news of Plumlee being traded. Fortunately for Charlotte, that decision has since proven to be at least somewhat beneficial. Mark Williams, a rookie that the Hornets drafted out of Duke University in last year’s draft, has been filling the new starting center position well.

Over the last four games, Williams is averaging 13.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting over 63% from the field. To put it simply, Williams has been playing amazingly. The best part is that his elevated play has translated into winning basketball for the Hornets.

During this six-game span, Charlotte ranks 9th in points per game, 8th in plus-minus, 3rd in defensive rating, 9th in net rating, and 1st in pace.

They started this winning streak by scoring an impressive 144 points against the Atlanta Hawks Monday, Feb. 13. LaMelo Ball finished the game with 30 points along with 15 assists and six rebounds. The entire Charlotte offense was on fire and finished with six players in double-digit scoring.

After defeating the San Antonio Spurs two days later and having a 9-day break for the All-Star Weekend, the Hornets succeeded over the Minnesota Timberwolves 121-113 in the first game of a back-to-back.

An 18-point and 20-rebound double-double from Williams helped Charlotte overcome the Miami Heat the next night 108-103.

One thing that immediately stands out when watching this Hornets team over the last two weeks is the high-paced offense. They are scoring efficiently on the fastbreak due to the combination of versatile finishing from young players like Mark Williams and P.J. Washington, with the high-level playmaking of LaMelo Ball.

Charlotte’s defense has also played at a much higher level in recent games. Since Feb. 13, they are in the top ten in defensive rating, defensive rebounds, blocks per game, and steals per game. With several young players, including Williams, becoming more reliable on defense, the Hornets have held their opponents to 45.6% from the field in that span.

While they haven’t had an extremely difficult schedule recently, it’s refreshing for many to see the Hornets playing winning basketball and having fun while doing it.

Calling a six-game span a small sample size would be an understatement, but I would argue that Charlotte fans haven’t had this much fun for this long since the beginning of the season.

Sadly, in Charlotte’s win over Detroit, LaMelo Ball went down with a non-contact ankle injury that was later determined to be a fractured ankle that will require season-ending surgery. While his absence from the rotation will surely have an effect on the team’s success, it’s still exciting to see such improved play from this young roster.