Charlotte Hornets: What to Learn from Missing Marvin
The Charlotte Hornets may not have Marvin Williams for now but they have managed a two win streak nonetheless.
The Charlotte Hornets went on a four game losing streak there for a bit. None of the games were blowouts as the Hornets remained competitive in each and everyone. The losses to the Pelicans at the beginning of the stretch and the Knicks at the end probably hurt the most.
What also hurt was the injuries. Marvin Williams went down with a knee issue and Nicolas Batum missed the second Knicks game with an eye injury. Williams will be gone for the near future and is an important part of how the Hornets work. He offers shooting and hard play from the four spot. He also gives some defensive flexibility to the team.
The Hornets lost to the Grizzlies and Knicks with Williams but managed to win the next game in both series without him. So how did they do it?
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First there is the depth of the Hornets. Charlotte plugged in Frank Kaminsky at the four spot and he took over Williams’ minutes. Behind Kaminsky would be more minutes for Spencer Hawes. There was some scoring drop off, but the pair and starting center Cody Zeller covered the boards pretty well.
The scoring issue was handled in both games by the return of Jeremy Lamb. Lamb had been hurt to start the season and seen by some as having hurt his value with his play at the end of last season. He was given the Knicks start with Batum out and responded with eighteen points. Batum’s return versus the Grizzlies didn’t wind up slowing down Lamb. He now offered twenty-one points in ten fewer minutes. Without Lamb the last two games would have been much different.
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The other factor is better defense. The Hornets held Memphis to eighty-five points. The Knicks scored 102 in that Hornets win, but Carmelo Anthony struggled with his shot against Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. This was after torching the Hornets in the previous game. Unfortunately the Hornets had little answer for Kristaps Porzingis this time around, but who does?
The two games that Williams has missed have shown the Hornets still stick to the script someone is missing. They are still a team built on defensive success and perimeter scoring. That being said they will rest easier when Marvin comes back.