Charlotte Hornets: 5 keys to making the playoffs

Get back to hitting 3-pointers

The Charlotte Hornets busted the season wide open with excellent 3-point shooting in the month of October. It has helped the team rank as a top-10 team in 3-point attempts, but making them has been a different story if we look month by month.

In October, which was just eight games, they were a top-10 team in 3-point attempts with 34.5 per game, making 37.7 percent of them, also a top-10 mark within the league. But their success from beyond the arc was short-lived.

The team’s 3-points attempts went down by 1.3 per game, and they were making significantly less when the calendar flipped to November. Their 34.8 shooting percentage placed in the middle of the league.

December was a little different as they were more efficient with a 36.8 shooting percentage for 3-pointers (a top-10 mark), but they were only attempting 31.6 shots per game from downtown, which was right around the league average for that month.

January was another mixed bag. The team made just 33.8 percent of their 3-point attempts despite taking 33.6 3-point field goals per game that month. They were among league leaders in attempts, but near the bottom of the league in actually converting their 3-point attempts.

February, so far, has been worse. Over 10 games, they have attempted the most 3-point shots in a month for the 2018-19 season at a clip of 35.4 per game. The results have been a mixed bag, making just 31.6 percent of them. Only three teams have been worse from beyond the arc in February: the Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns.

It’s not as though the Hornets don’t have 3-point shooters. They have five players that are hoisting at least 3.7 3-pointers per game: Batum, Lamb, Monk, Williams, and of course Kemba Walker.

But none of them have been particularly efficient this season. January can be partially blamed on Walker as he only made 31.3 percent of his 3-point attempts while the rest of that group pulled their weight from beyond the arc.

February has been the opposite so far, though. Walker is putting up 11.3 3-point attempts himself, making 37.2 percent of them. Batum is trying to keep pace as well, making 37.5 percent of his 5.6 3-point attempts per game. However, Lamb, Williams and Monk are converting just 27.3 percent of their 3-pointers combined so far this month.

Borrego has put more emphasis on the 3-point shooting for the Hornets this year, but outside the start of the year, the team as a whole hasn’t been great from beyond the arc. If the sharpshooters on this team can all catch fire at the same time, this offense could enough firepower to hang with the big teams and secure their playoff spot. If not, they could be on the outside looking in.