Defense must develop fast, because it will be a while for Charlotte Hornets’ offense

Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford isn’t prone to self-delusion. He knew this preseason could be rough. So far, that’s been true.

The Hornets lost their first three exhibitions. The final results of those glorified scrimmages don’t mean much, but the clunkiness, both offensively and defensively, was troubling.

Monday was a bit less clunky. After a 15-point first quarter, the Hornets finally saw a little flow in their offense. They created good shots, even if they weren’t always going through the hoop. In the first eight minutes of the third quarter, the starters played the kind of defense that defined the Hornets in a 48-victory regular season.

The Hornets beat a young, but extremely talented Minnesota Timberwolves squad 98-86. Clifford beat one of his best friends, T’Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau, which is never easy.

Afterward, Clifford nailed what the rest of the preseason must be about.

“It’s going to take us a while offensively to get to be where we need it to be,” he said. “That’s why our defense has to be great from the start.”

That start to the regular season is about two weeks away in Milwaukee. The Hornets now have a six-day break between exhibitions. They will get a day of rest Tuesday and then, I suspect, some brutal days of practice before the final three exhibitions.

The Hornets went through too much change during the summer for there not to be a steep learning curve this preseason. They lost reliable rotation pieces in Jeremy Lin, Courtney Lee and Al Jefferson. Now it’s about shaping roles for Marco Belinelli, Jeremy Lamb and Ramon Sessions.

The quality of last season’s bench was a huge factor in the Hornets’ success. The reserves came together quickly and often overpowered opposing benches.

This is going to be different. Lamb needs to step up to the opportunity this situation affords. Clifford wasn’t pleased with Lamb’s performance against the Boston Celtics in Greensboro, particularly defensively. He liked better what Lamb did Monday, finishing with 16 points and three rebounds.

“The thing tonight was his sense of purpose,” Clifford said. “Both in his pick-and-rolls and all those catch-and-shoots, he knew tonight, ‘This is the best play to make.’ He passed it when he should have and drove it when he should have.”

Part of the difficultly this preseason has been a lack of continuity because of injuries. Point guard Kemba Walker is just getting back to full speed after recovering from offseason knee surgery. That 3-pointer he made, beating the halftime buzzer, was the best sign he’s almost back.

Meanwhile, center Cody Zeller is held out of games and contact drills because of a deep bone bruise along his right knee. No telling when he’ll be cleared to play.

Zeller’s absence has seemingly cemented Roy Hibbert as the starting center. So far so good. He’s an automatic factor on defense and he caught a daring pass by Nic Batum for what became an easy post-up basket.

With Jefferson now an Indiana Pacer, it’s key that Hibbert and power forward Frank Kaminsky get those post catches.

“Our biggest problem last season offensively was getting the ball into the paint,” Clifford said. “It’s crucial; it affects the quality of your (long-)range shots.”

Then Clifford talked about how much defensive talent the starting five represents. He’s right, there’s major potential there.

He’s also right that defense can’t be a slow-developing dynamic. It will define this team’s season.

This story was originally published October 10, 2016 at 10:46 PM with the headline "Defense must develop fast, because it will be a while for Charlotte Hornets’ offense."