2016-17 Season Preview: Steve Clifford
The Hornets return with a familiar roster and a familiar head coach in Steve Clifford. It’s on Clifford to repeat last season’s success.
Looking Back at Marvin Williams Posting Up Smaller Players
Marvin Williams was the league’s second most productive post player in the 2015-16 regular season. The 11-year veteran recorded 1.16 points per possession in the post by bullying any smaller player matched up against him.
Looking Back at Jeremy Lamb’s Uneven Defense
Despite ranking sixth in the league among shooting guards in defensive real plus-minus, Jeremy Lamb tends to be spotty on defense. What are his main flaws and how good is he overall?
Looking Back at Nicolas Batum’s Up-And-Down Defense
Nicolas Batum had a great season for the Charlotte Hornets. However, there’s still room for improvement and we also need to acknowledge his stints of poor defense.
Looking Back at Jeremy Lin’s Recovery and Weakside Blocks
With 130 blocks total in the last four years combined, Jeremy Lin is among the best shot blockers ever for his size. Lin even recorded a career-high 42 shots blocked shots for the Hornets in the 2015-16 season.
Looking Back at Al Jefferson Missing Chippies and Throwing Down Dunks
Al Jefferson’s FG percentage near the rim has dropped quite low the last two seasons. A barrage of missed chippies only has highlighted that. Yet, in the meantime, the 12-year veteran somehow had his dunking-est year for the Hornets as well.
Looking Back at Kemba Walker’s Pull-Up Threes
Back in 2014-15 Kemba Walker was the third worst pull up 3-point shooter in the league. The point guard revised his shooting form during the summer, started to burn any defender who went under the screen on him and made the fourth most pull up threes in 2015-16.
Looking Back at Batum – Zeller Pick-and-Rolls
Cody Zeller ranks 5th in the league for the 2015-16 regular season in points per possession (1.22) as the roll man in the pick-and-roll. The big man can thank Nicolas Batum for that, without whom on the court Zeller’s field goal percentage drops by 8.2%.
Looking Back at Spencer Hawes’s Bounce Passes
Spencer Hawes ranks among the league’s best big man passers of the 2015-16 season. His offensive awareness and soft hands can especially be highlighted on the numerous bounce pass connections he made with guards when working from the elbow and the post.
Looking Back at Steve Clifford Disrupting Out-of-Bounds Plays
There are numerous things which point to the great job coach Steve Clifford and his staff have done with the Hornets. One of them, albeit just a small and fun nugget, is the way coach Clifford is ready to navigate his players through opponent out-of-bounds plays.
LamarMatic's NBA Blog 