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Should the Hornets Scare the Cavs?

By Jared Mueller

Feb 24, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) controls the ball against Charlotte Hornets center Al Jefferson (25) during the fourth quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 24, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) controls the ball against Charlotte Hornets center Al Jefferson (25) during the fourth quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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Should the Charlotte Hornets scare the Cleveland Cavaliers? They face off today.

While the Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs loom large as NBA Finals opponents, should the Hornets also scare the Cavs? While most have focused on the Toronto Raptors as the Cavs main threat in the Eastern Conference, the Hornets are tied for the 3rd seed and could be a threat.

Charlotte has won 7 of their last 10, 5 of their last 6 and 3 straight. They are scoring the 11th most points per game while allowing the 7th least points a game.

The Hornets also have the 9th best +/- in the league to along with the 8th best Net Rating.

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    • So should the Cavs be scared?

    The Hornets are led by PG Kemba Walker and his 21 points a game. The speedy, disruptive point guard can create for himself and his teammates while knocking down a career-best 38% behind the 3 point line. Walker is also dishing out 5 assists a game with only 2 turnovers. He is leading a team that leads the NBA with the least turnovers.

    They also rebound well as a team. Five Hornets average 6 or more rebounds a game led by wings Marvin Williams, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Nicolas Batum. Big guys Cody Zeller and Al Jefferson join the wings in gathering boards at a high rate.

    Batum is a huge X-Factor against the Cavs. He leads the team in assists, at 5.8 a game, while scoring just under 16 and being a dynamic defender. Batum’s long reach and solid defensive principles allow him to guard  numerous positions.

    With Jefferson’s bully play inside and Zeller’s inside/out play, the interior defense of the Cavs can be tested greatly. That combined with the shooting of Walker, Williams, Courtney Lee and even backup SG Troy Daniels and the Hornets can play offensive in a variety of ways.

    Walker’s quickness can make things difficult on Kyrie Irving while the size of Batum, Williams, MKG and even Lee make it difficult for the Cavs to switch Irving on to another player. That can put a lot of pressure, and foul trouble, on the rotating Cavs bigs.

    The Cavs have won 2 out of 3 against Charlotte so far this season. They have forced 2 more turnovers a game. The Hornets have attempted to slow the games down to help control the Cavs dynamic players. Their pace is down 3 against the Cavs. The Hornets assist percentage actually goes up in the limited sample against the Cavs as they move the ball and slow the pace.

    The Hornets depth also provides some concern for the Cavs. They can go 10 deep and still play quality lineups.

    With the Hornets currently tied for the 3rd seed, the Cavs could easily find themselves in a tough match-up in the 2nd Round of the NBA Playoffs. Charlotte is seemingly locked in to be somewhere between the 3rd and 6th seed as only a half game separates the 4 teams currently sitting in those seeds. Facing the Atlanta Hawks (currently tied for 3rd) or the Boston Celtics (currently tied for 5th) in the 2nd Round would be preferable to the deep and talented Hornets.

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    While the Charlotte Hornets are not a big scare to take the Cleveland Cavaliers out of the NBA Playoffs, they could make life tough for the Cavs. Extra games to grind the Cavs physically, LeBron James specifically, could also create more pressure and stress mentally. For young Cavs, like Irving and Kevin Love, this pressure could be problematic. The team has dealt with drama all season, going down 2 to 1 to the Hornets in the 2nd Round could be a tipping point.

    Should the Cavs, and their fans, be scared of the Hornets? Not even close to how scary the Warriors and Spurs are but Charlotte does create possible problems for Cleveland.

    How afraid are you of Charlotte?