What’s up with the Hornets and why are they playing so well? They offer a synopsis

The feat hadn’t been accomplished in so long that Miles Bridges wasn’t even aware of it, leaving him incredulous.

“That’s crazy,” Bridges said.

He couldn’t believe the Charlotte Hornets snapped a nearly two-decade long drought by emerging victorious in Utah and Portland during the same season for the first time since 2006. But these are the new-look Hornets and nothing is status quo.

“We just know we can win anywhere at any time,” Bridges said. “That’s a big confidence boost for us. Like I said things are changing for a positive note. We’ve been doing a great job of just coming in with a winning attitude anywhere we go. So that’s all we are doing.”

“We are just trying to be comfortable being unforgettable. That’s my main motto. Starting off on the road where people don’t think we can win at. But we are trying to end it 3-1 and then we’ll be good, have all the confidence in the world.”

Understanding they still can grasp onto something positive this season and are doing it minus LaMelo Ball — who’s been out since Jan. 27 rehabbing his sprained right ankle — should be a boost by itself. The Hornets have an unmistakable new energy circulating around. It’s created by the influx of faces that has the team looking totally different leading into Tuesday’s matchup in Milwaukee than it did just three weeks ago in its previous encounter with the Bucks.

Things haven’t been the same for the Hornets since Grant Williams, Seth Curry, Tre Mann, Davis Bertans and Vasilije Micić came on board in the two separate deadline deals that shook things up.

“The vibe changes when you win in general,” Cody Martin said. “It helps everything, all of us. It’s our job. It’s always been our passion. It’s what we do, it’s what we love to do. So, it can affect the vibes, it can affect your mood, it can affect everything else.

“So, when you start winning, it changes everything, and people just feed off that and it’s contagious. As long as we do what we are doing and understand what’s important going into the games, knowing what we are doing, we should be fine. But we’ve just got to keep doing that every day.”

Here are three things that have contributed to the Hornets’ resurgence:

Defense no longer optional

Ask coach Steve Clifford about the underlying difference with the Hornets during this, their best stretch of the season, and it’s probably not hard to anticipate the first words out of his mouth.

After all, it is supposed to be his specialty.

“Our defense for sure,” Clifford said.

Since Feb. 10, the Hornets rank first in defensive rating, limiting the opposition to 100.3 points per game. They are also tops in opponent 3-point percentage (25.8%), second in opponent field goal percentage (42.9%) and third in opponent turnovers (16).

“I think for us, we understand how important the defensive side is right now,” Martin said, “and I think we have older guys, guys who have a lot of experience, so they know what it’s like to be in certain situations, they know how important every possession is, shot selection.

“It’s just what’s important going into the game right now. So, I think we are doing a good job of trusting each other and just building on what we had after the trade deadline. Just having more pride going into the games and wanting to take certain things that maybe we didn’t prior seriously and it’s just a change, honestly.”

That new approach is evident in a variety of areas, especially on the ball on the perimeter. And the approach is spearheaded by one individual in particular: Martin.

“Defense wins games,” Bridges said. “That’s why Cody plays, that’s what he does. I’ll be surprised if Cody doesn’t get on the all-defensive team before his career is over — multiple times.. He deserves that. I feel like once we start winning, then he’ll start getting recognized more for his defense.

“But he does a great job every night. He guards the best player, and he’s been helping us win. He’s a big reason why we are winning right now.”

Cody Martin resurgence

Bridges isn’t wrong.

Not only has Martin, who’s started in the Hornets’ last eight games, been playing out of position at times by running point guard, he’s typically matched up with the opposition’s top weapons. And he relishes every second of it.

“That’s just my job,” Martin said. “I pride myself on that. But also an important part of that is my teammates being in the right spots and having great communication throughout the game, and it’s important that we are all on the same page. It’s not a one-man job.

“Those players are really, really good, so it’s important that we know what we are doing and we know our scheme going into the game. So, without that, without them knowing what they are doing it’s hard to do that.”

Offensively, Martin is beginning to show signs of knocking off the rust from the knee surgery that shelved him for a bulk of 2023-24 and a hefty portion of this season. He recorded his second career double-double in the victory over Portland, distributing 10 assists and establishing a new personal mark, and made half his eight shot attempts.

That had to feel good considering he’s connected on only 38.9% from the field this season, which is below his career mark of 44%.

“It’s just trusting your work,” Martin said. “At the end of the day, it’s part of the game. You miss shots, it is what it is. There’s plenty of shots that’s being missed throughout the game and throughout the season. So, if I sit there and dwell on certain ones that I’m missing, I work on those throughout the season, the summer.

“So, I’m not going to sit there and dwell on it. Just trust my work. Continue to work and move onto the next game and when I get those opportunities again I’m going to take them again.”

Martin’s play is a byproduct of the trickle down effect caused by the Hornets’ bumps and bruises.

“We are in a position, because of injuries, where we could do that,” Clifford said. “And he’s really been allowed to get into rhythm, get into conditioning and feel good about his health over these past few weeks and now he can play back to back, can play 28 minutes, 30 minutes on the second night.

“And you can see his movement is a lot better. But more than anything he’s a lot more in rhythm. His instincts are coming back because he feels more comfortable physically and he’s just in better shape, better rhythm.”

Nick Richards coming alive

With no end in sight to Mark Williams’ absence, the onus remains on Nick Richards to hold things down inside. And he knows more games along the lines of what he produced against the Trail Blazers are needed.

Richards’ impressive 21 points and 10 rebounds to go along with a season-high-tying three blocks and two steals represents his best output of the season.

He was assertive, throwing down dunks and clogging up the paint, more than holding his own against DeAndre Ayton. When Richards plays that way, the Hornets have a much better chance because they would get pounded otherwise on the boards, unable to constantly close out possessions, leading to second-chance points.

“My position coach just talks about me playing to my greatness,” Richards said, “not trying to force things that’s out of character for me and I feel like that’s really a part of my game, is playing off my teammates, letting them pass me the ball, be a dunker and finishing off rolls, lobs, making, free throws, coming over to help them block shots, pick-and-roll coverages. Just play to my strengths and everything else will be taken care of.”

The key for Richards, like so many of his teammates, is eliminating the peaks and valleys in his play.

“That’s just on me,” Richards said. “There’s some days the legs are tired. Honestly, when legs are tired you can’t go as much. That’s just on me to get through it and be as consistent as possible.”