Unbelievable but true, the Hornets are one of the teams in good shape in the NBA. This will not change much in the final results of what has once again been a disappointing season. But these last two weeks, with the victory last night against the Jazz, are a good remedy for the gloom. This great series bears the mark of Grant Wiliams, who arrived at the trade deadline from Dallas and is undefeated under his new colors with four victories!
Before the arrival of the former Celtics pitbull, Charlotte could apply for a dunce position in the league with 10 wins in 51 games. But the mid-season movements – the departures of Terry Rozier, PJ Washington or Gordon Hayward, against the arrivals of Grant Williams, Seth Curry, Tre Mann or Vasilije Micic – put the Hornets back on their feet. And despite the absences of LaMelo Ball and Mark Williams, Steve Clifford's men had more than two wins for the first time this season.
From 8.1 to 18.8 points!
“ What does it bring us? Absolutely everything » enthused Miles Bridges in comments reported by the Charlotte Observer. “ Leadership, toughness, a lot of intelligence, vocal presence… Everything we needed. He's fantastic for us. »
Having left Boston to obtain more responsibility in Dallas, a destination that seemed ideal, Grant Williams never managed to find his place with the Mavs, where his extroverted and loud-mouthed side would have annoyed people, even if the GM of the Mavericks denied this information. However, it only took him about ten days in North Carolina to find his role, as the main rotation off the bench (29.5 minutes on average) but with responsibilities: 18.8 points at 49% shooting and 5.5 rebounds, against 8.1 points at 41.3% among the Mavericks!
Grant Williams had a fourth game with 10 or more points after signing his first double-double of the season, just before the All-Star Game cut off against the Hawks.
“ In these four games, when he was on the field, we were very good“, rejoices Steve Clifford. “ And, once again, he plays well on both ends of the floor. This is what you need: two-way players. He creates a lot on offense for his teammates with his ability to close the play with his shooting and the way he plays. And he's like the middle linebacker (a sort of defensive quarterback in American football) who organizes your defense, he also plays with a lot of physicality. »
The Warriors, new test of size
With his new performance of choice, the Hornets went to win in Utah, after beating Memphis, Indiana and Atlanta before the All-Star Weekend break.
You had to go back to the Bobcats' days, in 2006, to find the trace of a Charlotte victory in Salt Lake City. “ It's something special for this city: 2006, it's been a long time » smiles Grant Williams.
For position 4, the results of the first part of the season left a distorted impression of what his new franchise is really worth. “ Everyone plays basketball the right way. You can feel it, everyone here wants to win, has this mentality to give everything, no matter who against. That's what we're trying to do. And I think the dynamic that was there, and also the dynamic that happened here, the whole perception that the league had was shit. All that matters is the guys in this locker room, and believing that you can do something special, no matter how far down in the standings you are. »
If the “play-in”, ten victories higher in the standings, has not been relevant for a while, building healthy and solid foundations for the future has already started for the Hornets. For a possible five pass against the Warriors, another team with great success recently.
| Grant Williams | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2019-20 | BOS | 69 | 15 | 41.2 | 25.0 | 72.2 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 3.4 |
| 2020-21 | BOS | 63 | 18 | 43.7 | 37.2 | 58.8 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 4.7 |
| 2021-22 | BOS | 77 | 24 | 47.5 | 41.1 | 90.5 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 7.8 |
| 2022-23 | BOS | 79 | 26 | 45.4 | 39.5 | 77.0 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 8.1 |
| 2023-24 * | All Teams | 50 | 27 | 42.3 | 37.4 | 76.9 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 3.8 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 8.7 |
| 2023-24 * | DAL | 47 | 26 | 41.3 | 37.6 | 74.5 | 1.0 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 8.1 |
| 2023-24 * | CHA | 3 | 30 | 51.4 | 35.3 | 90.0 | 1.3 | 6.0 | 7.3 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 17.0 |
| Total | 338 | 22 | 44.5 | 37.8 | 77.3 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 6.5 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
