No NBA team is as clutch as the Hornets — not even close. The secret to how they got good
Not long ago, the Charlotte Hornets’ late-game offense was a lot simpler.
So simple that every opponent in the NBA knew what was coming.
“Early in my career, Kemba (Walker) could hit some big shots, but everybody knew it would be in Kemba’s hands the last six minutes,” Hornets center Cody Zeller said.
“We might be a little more dynamic now because so many different guys have stepped up to make big plays.”
Far more dynamic. NBA history-making dynamic. The Hornets have become the kings of clutch this season. When a game is close down the stretch, they are the most efficient team in the league by a huge margin.
If they finish this season at their current pace, the Hornets would have by far the best clutch-time net rating since the league started tracking that statistic in 1996.
The NBA defines “clutch time” as whenever the margin of a game is five points or fewer in the last five minutes of a game. In the 48 clutch-time minutes the Hornets have played this season, entering Wednesday’s road game with the Denver Nuggets, they outscore opponents by 57.9 points per 100 possessions.
The best season-long clutch-time net rating is 34.2/100 for the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers in 2008-09.
This isn’t some contrived stat for the analytics nerds. Playing superbly down the stretch has been crucial to a team trying to break a four-season span without a playoff appearance. The Hornets have already won three games this season when they were down five or more points in the last minute of regulation.
They are 13-5 this season when clutch time is applied, so more than half of their 20 victories so far were eked out down the stretch.
They have multiple players comfortable taking the shot that decides a game. Shooting guard Terry Rozier has been most prolific, including a buzzer-beater to knock off the Golden State Warriors, but this is no longer a Kemba-or-bust offense.
“Seems like every game comes down to the fourth quarter,” said guard Malik Monk, who made a layup and free throw in the final two seconds Feb. 28 to beat the Sacramento Kings. “We spent a lot of time losing these games in the past.
“Now, we spend a lot of time closing.”
What makes the Hornets so clutch? Three factors: Mental makeup, attention to detail and a diverse, unpredictable offense.
‘Ice in his veins’
The Hornets had another of those crazy clutch plays Monday in a comeback victory over the Sacramento Kings. They outscored the Kings 18-6 over the final 4 1/2 minutes. The biggest play: A tie-breaking 3-pointer by Rozier with 54 seconds left off a feed from Gordon Hayward.
“Ice in his veins, there’s no doubt about it,” Hayward said of Rozier, who is shooting 56% from 3-point range in clutch time. “He always seems to come up big in these moments and we’ve needed every one of them.”
Except this isn’t all Rozier. Hayward shoots 60% from 3 in clutch time this season and Miles Bridges shoots 57%. Rozier, Monk and Hayward have all made late-game winners, and coach James Borrego says he’s confident Devonte Graham, P.J. Washington and Ball are all capable of doing the same.
Even at the NBA level, there are plenty of players who don’t want that pressure.
“Many players in this league aren’t willing to go there,” said Borrego.
When Borrego and predecessor Steve Clifford turned constantly to now-Boston Celtic Walker late in games, it was because there were so few alternatives. Walker had the skill and the will to take responsibility for the last shot. There wasn’t anyone else particularly equipped for that.
But general manager Mitch Kupchak’s three biggest moves in this rebuild have been recruiting free agents Rozier and Hayward from Boston and drafting Ball third overall. Those three upgraded the talent gap the Hornets had; they also share a gutsy trait, even fearlessness, this team lacked.
“Mentally tough,” Graham said. “You can’t remember the last shot if you miss.”
But all that matters only to the extent a team is prepared for the moment.
James Borrego: Where a coach makes his money
Graham catches himself chuckling in practice at how detail-obsessed Borrego can be.
“Man, we’re going over that same last-second play! We already know that one,” Graham recalls thinking. “But you’ve got to execute those with 2.1 seconds or 1.4 seconds left.
“They do such a good job of putting us in a position to do that.”
Borrego learned to be detail-driven over a decade as a San Antonio Spurs assistant. Working for Gregg Popovich gave him an appreciation for how little things loom large.
Particularly so for a Hornets team that must win in the margins and isn’t talented enough to blow away opponents on collective talent.
“This is where you make your money as a coach: How your team executes in the last five minutes,” Borrego said. “Ultimately, our players have to make shots and make plays. But we have to do our part as coaches to put them into situations to feel comfortable making those plays.”
Assistant coach Jay Triano is the point person on end-of-game strategy. Formerly a head coach with the Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns, Triano distills scouting reports and matchup video down to a folder of a half-dozen plays, each on a laminated card.
Borrego and Triano meet 75 minutes before each game to review late-game options. The goal is to over-prepare in a way that anything can be conveyed to the players in 30 seconds of a timeout.
“There is no time for debate or discussion,” Triano said. “We’ve got to get that message relayed to the players quick.”
There is a mixture of science and art to this. For instance, the coaches went into the Detroit Pistons game March 11 believing Hayward would have the best late-game matchup. But Rozier was so hot late in that game that the staff junked that plan, and Rozier came through with 12 points in the last 3 1/2 minutes.
Hayward thoroughly endorsed that flip, which is the final element of what makes this work.
Malik Monk — ‘togetherness and having fun’
Monk says there is a joy to how the Hornets play this season that factors into why they’re so good in the clutch.
“Togetherness and having fun — that’s the biggest thing,” said Monk, in his fourth season in Charlotte. “Everybody enjoys their time out there.”
Drilling down, Monk meant there aren’t oversized egos undermining teamwork. He cites Hayward as a prime example; he came to Charlotte for a $120 million, four-year contract and also to reestablish that he could be the top player on an NBA team. But when the coaches shifted to Rozier as the late-game go-to guy vs. the Pistons, Hayward had no problem with it.
“Gordon Hayward could just shoot the ball every time. That’s what he got paid to do,” Monk said. “He knows when it’s not his night, when it’s somebody else’s night. He is always going to be the leader who steps up and says that.”
Monk’s own game-winner in Sacramento illustrates this unselfish approach. Washington was having a career scoring night (42 points), so he was the logical player to take the last shot. But rookie point guard Ball vetoed that, saying the Kings’ defense would rush at Washington, so Monk would get the pass that became the winning score.
“We have that faith in Melo,” Monk said. “He just knows this game.”
And the Hornets know clutch.
“We’re very diverse. Most nights, teams don’t know where we’re going with the ball,” Borrego said.
“Our guys trust each other. That’s probably what I’m most proud of about our group — that in the final minutes of a game, we tend to make the right play.”
Charlotte Hornets, kings of clutch
The Hornets lead the NBA in field-goal accuracy (56.4%) and 3-point accuracy (53.8%) in clutch time this season. They’re 13-5 in games decided in games that are within five points with five minutes or less to play. Charlotte’s clutch-time greatest hits this season:
▪ Hornets 107, Orlando Magic 104, Jan. 24: The Hornets recovered from being down 12 going into the fourth quarter. The score was tied at 104-104 late in the game before Gordon Hayward’s game-winning layup with 0.7 seconds left on the clock.
▪ Hornets 129, Miami Heat 121 in overtime, Feb. 1: The Hornets were down by 10 points with 3:11 to go in the fourth quarter. Over the final three minutes and in overtime, they outscored the Heat 28-10, as Malik Monk made a game-tying 3-pointer with 16.6 seconds in regulation.
▪ Hornets 102, Golden State Warriors 100, Feb. 20: The Hornets were down 100-95 with 53.1 seconds to go in the game. Finished the game on a 7-0 run to pull out the win on Terry Rozier’s pull-up 20-footer at the buzzer.
▪ Hornets 127, Sacramento Kings 126, Feb. 28: Down by by five points with 52.4 seconds left in the game, the Hornets finished on a 9-3 run to win on a converted and-one by Malik Monk.
This story was originally published March 17, 2021 at 9:00 AM.
