Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford had expectations this team could field one of the NBA’s top five defenses this season.
Of all the disappointments wrapped up in this dreadful 29-38 season, defense tops the list.
As of now, the Hornets are 15th among 30 NBA teams in defensive efficiency. That is a measure of points per possession (in order to factor out pace). By that metric, the Hornets allow 1.057 points per opponent possession. That might not sound dreadful, but it’s getting worse all the time: That number jumped to 1.167 over the last three games, which is the bottom of the league.