Charlotte Hornets: Biggest Reason Why They’re Losing
Well, the Charlotte Hornets’ losing streak was finally ended Friday night against the New York Knicks. The streak reached 10 games and saw a variety of different types of losses: last-second shots, blowouts, and huge blown leads.
The game against the Knicks was looking like it was going to be an emphatic end to the streak, as they jumped out to what was, at one point, a 21-point lead. However, stellar three-point shooting by the Knicks and an inability to score by the Hornets saw the lead dwindle down to what eventually became a one-point deficit with under five seconds to play. Luckily for the teal and purple faithful, Kemba Walker pulled out his famous late-game heroics with a buzzer-beating layup for the win.
New York outscored Charlotte by a whopping 33 points to 18 in the final quarter. This has become an all-too-common trend for the Hornets this season, and has been a big part of their losing ways. This marked the third time already this year that Charlotte has surrendered a 20+ point lead, but the first time they were still able to win.
Thus far, the Hornets are averaging 22.4 points per fourth quarter. Only Detroit, Houston, and Philadelphia have averaged less. Not scoring in the fourth is one thing, but allowing the other team to score nearly at will is the damaging trend. Charlotte ranks fourth worst in the NBA in fourth quarter scoring margin, allowing their opponent to put up an average of over 25 points.
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The last 11 games have been the worst for this trend, which is why 10 of those 11 games have been losses, and the one that wasn’t (New York) probably should have been. During that stretch, Charlotte has been outscored in the fourth every game but two — at Golden State and at Atlanta — and both of those games were over well before the fourth. The Hornets only put up 21 points in the fourth, on average, while allowing teams to tally nearly 28 points.
Folks, if that trend continues, that would mean Charlotte is nearly guaranteed to lose if they go into the final period with anything less than an eight-point lead. Anyone still wondering why they’ve only won five games?
There are plenty of theories as to why Charlotte has struggled in the fourth, but there’s one that’s apparent: they play not to lose.
Anyone watching them can see things change for the Hornets when in a close game. On offense, they force-feed the ball to Al Jefferson and try to run every play through him. He’s the best player, so that makes sense, but it needs to be more creative.
Teams know what’s coming, so they’re able to pack things in, knowing that Charlotte is not a good three-point shooting team. When Al get’s the ball, he’s either forced to shoot a heavily contested shot, or kick the ball out with little time left on the shot clock, forcing Kemba Walker, or whoever has the ball, to take a poor shot.
On the defensive end in a close game, the Hornets play tight inside and over-pursue on the perimeter. This allows teams to penetrate, kick the ball out and shoot a three. Charlotte has been absolutely torched by the three-ball this year, allowing teams to shoot 37.3 percent on the season and 46.6 percent in the last three games. The “bend but don’t break” approach late in the game has really hurt the Hornets so far.
The good news for Charlotte is that they have the talent to be up big in games, it will just take a few adjustments to keep the leads. A few plays here and there and the Hornets could just as easily be 15-5. When this team gets its late-game adjustments corrected, watch out.