Friday illustrates just how reliant Charlotte Hornets are on Kemba Walker

Strangely enough, Friday night’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers might have been the best illustration yet of how essential Kemba Walker is to the Charlotte Hornets’ offense.

If Walker is any less than, say, 90 percent of his capacity, it’s challenging for the Hornets to score efficiently. He’s been great in that regard, with 27 games of 20 or more points. But when Walker starts out shooting 3-of-13, as he did Friday, the Hornets regress to a 102-93 loss to the Sixers.

In fairness to the Sixers, that team has improved significantly of late, winning five of their last six games. Rookie center Joel Embiid gives that franchise hope; he totaled 24 points and eight rebounds, and twice devoured shot attempts at the rim by Hornets center Cody Zeller.

But the Hornets swept the four-game series with the Sixers last season and won the only previous meeting with Philadelphia this season. There was every reason to believe this game would be the end to a losing streak that has now reached four games.

The Hornets are 20-20 and drifting down the Eastern Conference standings. They are not the defensive team they were in an 8-3 start. If they need to rely on offense, that means relying on Walker. And, occasionally, he’s going to end up with 17 points on 7-of-23 shooting.

"We’re like most teams; you need your best players" to be consistently great, said coach Steve Clifford. "It’s not fair to (Walker), and he’s delivered night after night after night.

"We are reliant on him in order to play at a high level; which he’s done."

Walker is a legitimate All-Star candidate who is averaging 23 points and shooting 42 percent from 3-point range. That improved 3-point percentage changes how teams must guard him in pick-and-roll situations. This season Walker averages more points as a pick-and-roll ballhandler (12.3 per game) than any other NBA player.

But Friday the Sixers’ defensive schemes threw him off. Philadelphia coach Brett Brown was thrilled with how his team pestered Walker in pick-and-rolls, forcing Walker into four turnovers.

Turnovers might have been the most significant statistic in this game. The Hornets committed a season-high 19 turnovers, which translated to 20 76ers points.

Being low-turnover is all but a commandment in the way Clifford coaches. These weren’t just turnovers, they were the ugly open-court sort that end up as transition layups at the other end. The Sixers scored 17 fast-break points, including a back-breaking layup by Embiid, out in front of the break and the Hornets’ defense.

With Walker having an off night, the only Hornet to really pick up the slack was shooting guard Nic Batum, who generated 19 points off 14 shots from the field. The other three starters – Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marvin Williams and Zeller – were a combined 10-of-26 from the field.

You don’t typically think of the 76ers as elite defensively. Brown was elated to repeat this statistic post-game: The Hornets shot 11-of-22 at the rim Friday and 15-of-37 in the lane. The 76ers had nine blocks to two by the Hornets.

The Hornets have typically been a little better offensively this season than anticipated. Not Friday.

Like Clifford said, it might not be fair, but it is a reality: When Walker is anything short of great, this team is bound to struggle.

This story was originally published January 13, 2017 at 11:08 PM with the headline "Friday illustrates just how reliant Charlotte Hornets are on Kemba Walker."