How a pinch of team defense and a dash of Tony Parker was Hornets’ winning recipe

This was one of those “It takes a village” things.

No one player is equipped to guard Blake Griffin all by himself. Primary responsibility was on Marvin Williams Sunday afternoon, but he’d be the first person to say holding Detroit Pistons star Griffin to 4-of-16 shooting was not a solo accomplishment.

“He’s proven time and time again in this league that he’s an elite scorer and an incredible playmaker, as well,” Williams said of Griffin. “The coaches came up with a great scout(ing plan). We definitely had to slow him down collectively.”

That plan was so successful that Griffin finished with 10 points - 15 below his average - and wasn’t even available at the end of the game. He had a first-half technical foul and a second-half flagrant foul, the more severe category 2, which is an automatic ejection.

The Hornets won on the road 113-103 against just the sort of opponent they must consistently beat to reach the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. The Pistons (6-6) are in the circle with the Hornets (7-6), trying to secure one of the last three post-season spots in the Eastern Conference. The season might be less than a quarter old, but these are the games that eventually decide who finishes above .500 and who wins tiebreakers.

Griffin is comparable to the Hornets’ Kemba Walker, as far as central to his team’s prospects. If Walker is the guy so hard to match in speed and quickness, then 6-foot-10, 250-pound Griffin is comparable in his ability to brute his way to victory.

That’s not to say Griffin isn’t skilled, but to contain him your first task is keep him off the rim without constantly sending him to the foul line. That’s where the Hornets needed a variety of bodies involved, and they lost one of the better ones - reserve forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist - early in the game to a sprained right ankle.

That meant a heavy reliance on Williams to be the primary defender. The complement to that was either a guard, such as Walker or Tony Parker, “digging” at the ball as Griffin made his move or another big man, such as center Cody Zeller coming over to sandwich Griffin in the post.

This was a different defense than the Hornets have typically played this season under new coach James Borrego because most teams no longer run their offense through the post as much as the Pistons do with Griffin and center Andre Drummond.

“We didn’t have a whole lot of time to work on this, but they locked in in our shootaround,” Borrego said.

“Marv had the challenge tonight of guarding him, but we had multiple bodies around him. We were active in the paint. We were in (when he had the ball) and out (when he passed). He saw a crowd all night.”

So much so that Pistons coach Dwane Casey acknowledged post-game the frustration got the best of his star.

“That frustration builds up,” Casey said, later adding that all the Pistons ask of Griffin is “taking a toll on him.”

Parker factor

Speaking of tolls, it’s become remarkable just how much burden Parker is taking off Walker. The Hornets’ two point guards each scored 24 points and did so with efficiency, shooting a combined 20-of-35 from the field.

The biggest problem on this team the past two seasons was finding a competent backup to Walker. At 36, Parker hasn’t just fixed that, he’s brought confidence to a second unit that couldn’t be trusted with a lead last season.

“We all depend on him in the second unit,” said Kidd-Gilchrist, who played just five minutes Sunday. “The way he plays keeps everybody organized.”

Parker is becoming as much Walker’s running mate as his backup. Casey said pre-game his worst concern about how the Hornets now play is when Walker and Parker are both on the court. That means there is a player equipped to attack from either side of the court, so defenses can’t get away with as much special attention on Walker, the NBA’s second-leading scorer at 27.9 points per game.

“Tonight was a little bit different because Drummond and Blake play back (in the paint defensively), so I was open with my shot and got it going,” Parker said.

“As a point guard, you have to read: Sometimes it’s a passing game and sometimes it’s a scoring game.”

Progress

This felt like one of those matchups where, had the Hornets lost, it would have been a game they’d look back on and regret come April. Afternoon NBA games are tricky because players’ body clocks don’t always reset for 3:30 tip-offs. It was no big surprise when the Hornets started this one missing their first five shots from the field.

They got through that because they had a plan for Griffin, executed it with precision and trusted their defense, something essential to winning on the road.

“It’s everyone else (but the primary defender on Griffin) who cause the chaos (with the) digs and the doubles,” Williams said. “If they don’t know when we’re coming or where we’re coming from...”

Then Griffin takes an early trip to the showers and the Hornets fly on with a winning record.

This story was originally published November 11, 2018 at 8:00 PM with the headline "How a pinch of team defense and a dash of Tony Parker was Hornets’ winning recipe."