Hornets Recent Slump

Post #1 » by **fatlever** » Fri Jan 8, 2016 6:03 pm

"Slump" is probably being kind.

A few articles talking about our recent poor play, factors and solutions.

From ATH:
http://www.atthehive.com/2016/1/8/10725418/injuries-have-derailed-the-charlotte-hornets-balanced-scoring

From Lottery Mafia
http://thelotterymafia.com/article/charlotte-has-lost-its-sting.html

From Bonnell
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nba/charlotte-hornets/article53454190.html

Post #2 » by **yosemiteben** » Fri Jan 8, 2016 6:16 pm

From that Lottery Mafia piece:

Hawes, or homeless Steven Segal as I like to call him...

Post #3 » by **fatlever** » Fri Jan 8, 2016 6:22 pm

http://www.nba.com/hornets/latest-buzz-injuries-forcing-hornets-adjust

from NBA.com

Eoghan · Post #4 » by **Eoghan** » Fri Jan 8, 2016 6:26 pm

bws94 · Post #5 » by **bws94** » Fri Jan 8, 2016 6:59 pm

BrotherDave wrote:

Ha ha. So we can let them off the hook, right ??

DY_nasty · Post #6 » by **DY_nasty** » Sat Jan 9, 2016 2:37 am

Injuries are a thing

Hornet Mania · Post #7 » by **Hornet Mania** » Sat Jan 9, 2016 2:50 am

Slump seems to be mostly due to injuries, with a sprinkle of our guys regressing to their expected level of play. Marv especially was on fire for awhile there, it couldn't really last over 82 games.

We're not the 2nd-best team in the East as the early standings suggested, but we're also not this awful.

DY_nasty · Post #8 » by **DY_nasty** » Sat Jan 9, 2016 3:12 am

Hornet Mania wrote:Slump seems to be mostly due to injuries, with a sprinkle of our guys regressing to their expected level of play. Marv especially was on fire for awhile there, it couldn't really last over 82 games.

We're not the 2nd-best team in the East as the early standings suggested, but we're also not this awful.

People here were really gassed over that.

Nice long home stretch at the time.

Braggins · Post #9 » by **Braggins** » Sat Jan 9, 2016 8:24 am

Injuries + Marv and Lamb regressing = dis slump

I also feel like Clifford has been reverting back to some old habits more than I'd like.

Post #10 » by **yosemiteben** » Sat Jan 9, 2016 1:42 pm

Braggins wrote:I also feel like Clifford has been reverting back to some old habits more than I'd like.

In what way? I feel like he's really only been playing guys that are available to play, tough to criticize him.

HornetJail · Post #11 » by **HornetJail** » Sat Jan 9, 2016 4:51 pm

We have nobody that plays defense. This slump was inevitable. Cody's defense has been underwhelming. I was hoping he'd make that leap, but he is struggling as the best defensive big man on the team. Batum's defense has been fairly underwhelming as well, though his offense has been better than expectations, so it evens out.

But our defense is hurtling downwards FAST. When Nic and even MKG come back, we are going to need plenty of defense to make a playoff push. We absolutely have to make a trade at the deadline- preferably before.

DY_nasty · Post #12 » by **DY_nasty** » Sat Jan 9, 2016 6:56 pm

MotorKeepsGoing wrote:We have nobody that plays defense. This slump was inevitable. Cody's defense has been underwhelming. I was hoping he'd make that leap, but he is struggling as the best defensive big man on the team. Batum's defense has been fairly underwhelming as well, though his offense has been better than expectations, so it evens out.

But our defense is hurtling downwards FAST. When Nic and even MKG come back, we are going to need plenty of defense to make a playoff push. We absolutely have to make a trade at the deadline- preferably before.

Cody isn't bad as much as he is wildly inconsistent - and much of that is because he's either trying to cover for everyone when he shouldn't or he's simply being an airhead. In the past week, every game has had a stretch where he looks like two different players entirely. Cliff's benched him for it and low key grilled him through the press conferences as well.

Batum is a good defender, but you can't expect him to carry the defensive load AND play PG / #1 option at the same time. I don't mind him playing free safety weak side to conserve energy for the side of the ball where he's most valuable to the team.

The defense is crap mainly because we can't rebound. Yeah, we're getting beat on the perimeter and all that, but we can't even end possessions when we do lock in because we can't get the ball back. Its bad. Its so bad that Cliff's even allowed other guys to go for offensive boards to mitigate the problem and hopefully trade a few punches in that consistently losing battle.

Its Marvin and that 4 spot in particular. None of our bigs are going to rebound outside of their area, and the only guard that can really rebound (ie not poach) is Kemba - and he's definitely not a solution that problem.

So I've been kinda twiddling my thumbs waiting to see who we pick up. I thought we'd give Ryan Hollins a call at the very least but w/e

Post #13 » by **fatlever** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 4:09 am

Hornets have 24th ranked defense over last 11 games.

Post #14 » by **fatlever** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 4:10 am

Hornets ranked 28th in opponent 3pt % in last 11 games (on 2nd most attempts per game). Recipe for disaster.

Post #15 » by **fatlever** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 4:11 am

Opponents shooting 54% on 3s in 1st quarter in our last 11 games (last in league).

Post #16 » by **fatlever** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 4:12 am

We have a DTRG of 122.8 in the 1st quarter over last 11 games (that is last in league).

Post #17 » by **fatlever** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 4:14 am

42.9% rebound % in 1st quarter over last 11 games (29th in league).

Post #18 » by **fatlever** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 4:16 am

45.5% eFG over last 11 games (last in league).

Post #19 » by **fatlever** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 4:21 am

Kemba, PJ, Marvin and Cody have a DTRG of 127 over last 11 games in the 1st quarter. Only 4-man lineup worse in that stretch is Kemba, Lin, PJ, Marvin (Cody tied) with 131.

Elden Payton · Post #20 » by **Elden Payton** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 4:24 am

We are terrible.