Winning ugly just fine with D-minded Hornets
Raptors hit town to face Charlotte squad that’s 6-1 the old-fashioned way
CHARLOTTE, N.C.— When the Hornets play this season, you will not find a lot of people calling it beautiful basketball.
While Kemba Walker can unleash a gorgeous drive to the basket and Nic Batum will throw the occasional pass that Cam Newton would admire, these Hornets are not as pretty on offence as they were a year ago. They miss the points that came from Jeremy Lin and Al Jefferson.
But they can hang with anybody when they play defence well. That’s where this team will butter its bread, and it has done so pretty effectively in a 6-1 start to the regular season, tied for first in the East with the Cavaliers.
The Hornets, whose next game is Friday at home against the Toronto Raptors, have a grind-it-out sort of team this year. Walker is clearly the team’s best player — no matter how many zeroes are stacked on the end of Batum’s new contract — and the offence must go through Kemba, especially during the fourth quarter. Walker is averaging 23.9 points. The next highest is Batum at 12.7.
But on defence the Hornets are much more well-balanced. The latest “re-addition” of Michael KiddGilchrist means that the team has its best perimeter defender back on the floor again, although every Hornets fan whispers, “Please let him stay healthy” every time MKG leaves the ground.
Roy Hibbert — if his troublesome knee behaves — might be the rim protector the team has sorely lacked. And underrated defender Marvin Williams — who can basically defend any player in the NBA other than point guards — gives the Hornets all sorts of versatility.
“There’s no question we can be better on defence this season,” Williams said.
“First and foremost, you get MKG back who’s one of the better perimeter defenders in the league. And then you bring in an all-star defender with Roy.”
It’s not foolproof, of course. Hornets coach Steve Clifford was angry after the team’s only loss to Boston.
“When you play defence, there’s a way you do it,” Clifford said after the game. “When guys start making their own stuff up you have no shot against a good team, and that’s what happened tonight.”