Charlotte Hornets: Shorter Rotation is Working

Lost amid the surprising Atlanta Hawks and the resurgence of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Charlotte Hornets are quietly climbing the standings.

On Jan. 1, the Hornets were in 12th place in the Eastern Conference and the playoffs looked like a pipe dream. Today, they would be the seventh seed with the sixth-place Milwaukee Bucks in their crosshairs (hunting pun intended).

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Most impressively of all, this run has come in the middle of injuries to very key guys. Kemba Walker has already missed seven games since January and is going to be missing a whole lot more. Also, Al Jefferson missed eight games in January in addition to the last game in December.

So how has this scrappy bunch been able to to turn things around? It starts with head coach, Steve Clifford.

If you think about it, Clifford’s style of tough, gritty defense and ample ball movement on offense has really set this team up to succeed no matter who is in the lineup. The only thing he needs in return is for everyone to buy into his system, and it seems that is finally starting to happen.

At the beginning of this run, it was largely due to heroic efforts from Kemba Walker. However, as of late, it has seemingly been someone different each and every night. First it was Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, then Cody Zeller, and in Thursday’s win against the Washington Wizards, it was Jason Maxiell. Unless you’ve been following the Hornets, you’re probably thinking, “Jason who?”

A huge part of why this has been the case was Clifford’s decision to go back to a shorter rotation of guys.

He has always been a proponent of a shorter rotation and seems to have finally settled in on a nine-man group, at least until Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo return from their injuries.

As Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer pointed out, Clifford’s philosophy of a short rotation allows everyone within that rotation to receive enough minutes to get into a rhythm.

Something that seems to go largely unnoticed in the world of basketball is the importance of synergy and team chemistry. It’s why the San Antonio Spurs have been so successful for so long and it’s why the Miami Heat during the LeBron James era took a little while to get things going.

By shortening the rotation, it gives those few guys a chance to get more familiar with each other and work more off of instinct, allowing them to focus more energy on the opponent than just functioning with each other. Think about it, clearly it’s a lot easier to mesh with seven or eight guys as opposed to eleven or twelve.

As Bonnell goes on to point out, the guys not seeing playing time aren’t playing for a very specific reason – inexperience.

Noah Vonleh, P.J. Hairston, Jeff Taylor, and Elliot Williams were the four guys that didn’t see the court Thursday night against the Wizards. Two of them (Vonleh and Hairston) are rookies, one (Taylor) was suspended for a good chunk of the season, and the fourth (Williams) had only been on the roster for about 24 hours.

Having a solid, experienced rotation allows these other guys a chance to observe and learn from a different perspective so that when their number is called, they aren’t just thrown into the fire.

Many fans in Charlotte are calling for Vonleh to get more minutes. Clearly, we’re all excited to see him play, but it will be beneficial in the long run. Remember, patience is a virtue.

A shorter rotation is having a benefit from both sides of things. The veterans that are getting playing time are gelling and building chemistry while the younger guys are getting a chance to learn and observe. This is allowing the Charlotte Hornets to win in the present and build for the future.

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