Noah Vonleh

Why the Charlotte Hornets could win the NBA title

Published Apr. 6, 2016 3:02 p.m. ET

foxsports

Ahead of the NBA playoffs, FOX Sports will find the best-case scenario for all 16 qualified teams and make the case for why each could win the title, no matter how improbable it might be.

Remember Marvin Williams, the former No. 2 overall pick by the Atlanta Hawks in 2005? Man, he was a bust, wasn't he?

So, about that. At age 29, Williams is still in the league — this is his 11th season — and he's actually pretty good.

Williams, long besmirched as a 'tweener', is having a renaissance season by typifying the modern NBA's new favorite role player, the 3-and-D wing.

For a while, Williams, who can guard three positions, was leading the Hornets in both blocks (he has a career-high 74 so far this season, smashing his previous mark of 46) and 3-point percentage (he's made just shy of 40 percent of his 356 attempts). He's 15th in the NBA in effective field goal percentage, between All-Star Al Horford and the spectacular Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Hornets are chock-full of "second-rate" players like Williams. Charlotte is an Island of Misfit Toys that is finding cohesion by playing a progressive style on both ends of the court. In a league that is suddenly valuing versatility, they're stocked. They're the poor man's Golden State Warriors.

Nicolas Batum — another "tweener" acquired by Charlotte for Noah Vonleh and Gerald Henderson last summer — is still one of the most underappreciated players in the NBA. He leads the Hornets in assists and is averaging a career-high 15.2 points per game while also guarding four positions.

In a league that's now valuing combo guards with a system tailor-made for his skills, Kemba Walker is thriving in his fifth season, doubling his year-to-year 3-point output, earning 9.3 win shares, and posting the first positive net rating of his career. If the Hornets are in a tight spot late, there's no question about who is going to take the last shot, either. Walker's clutch play is a big reason Charlotte is 5-0 in overtime games this season.

Another reason Charlotte is dangerous is because of its depth. The Hornets are deep and dynamic, and while benches get shorter as the playoffs progress, the bevy of options gives coach Steve Clifford room to experiment with lineups. The Hornets can play a big and plodding style with Al Jefferson as the offensive fulcrum, or turn up the pace by surrounding Walker with shooters, including Courtney Lee, whose acquisition solidified the Hornets' rotation.

Perhaps more so than any other team in the NBA, the Hornets keep opponents guessing.

Since Feb. 1, the Hornets have been the best team in the Eastern Conference at 21-8, good for third in the NBA -- and you know who is No. 1 and No. 2. This strong stretch coincides with Clifford pushing the team to ramp up its defensive intensity.

Subsequently, Charlotte is fourth in the NBA in defensive rating and opponent field goal percentage over the last two-plus months. The Hornets have gone from ninth in the East to 1.5 games out of the third seed in that time.

The Hornets boast a winning record against the East's playoff teams in that spell, as well. Wins over Cleveland and Miami were big, but a grind-it-out 91-88 win over the Spurs might be more indicative of what the Hornets can do on the big stage.

The Hornets have also created a surprising home-court advantage in recent weeks by winning 12 of their last 15 in Charlotte.

The Hornets don't mind playing ugly games because they have the ability to play the most effective style to beat an opponent. Add in Charlotte's newfound zeal for defense, the ability to shoot the 3, and Walker, a go-to scorer in the clutch, and the Hornets are a formidable opponent in the playoffs.

If Charlotte can earn home-court advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs, it's hardly ridiculous to put them in an Eastern Conference Finals matchup against the Cavaliers.

Cleveland might have LeBron James, but as the Hornets' Walker-free 106-97 win on Feb. 3 showed, the Hornets can force the Cavs out of their comfort zone. While no one on the Hornets can check LeBron effectively, Charlotte can exploit Kevin Love in pick-and-roll situations, and their ball movement and ability to control the pace can balance the scales against a mentally fragile Cleveland team that is always tinkering and toying in an effort to find the best version of itself.

As for the NBA Finals: Charlotte has shown that they can beat San Antonio, and they weren't blown out by the Warriors in their two matchups this season — both of which came before the team's Feb. 1 kick into fifth gear. The Hornets even won three of the "four factors" in their contest with the Warriors on Jan. 4, falling only because of 3-point shooting.

Since then, the Hornets have gotten more stingy with the ball (they're second-best in the NBA in turnovers), are fourth in 3-pointers made, and have defended 3-pointers at the second-best rate in the NBA.

Perhaps Steph Curry would be distracted by playing at home and throw the Hornets a game or two. As we saw with Golden State's home loss to the Timberwolves, it's at least a possibility.

Furthermore, the Hornets might unite around owner Michael Jordan with the aim of avoiding another onslaught of the "Crying Jordan" meme on the internet.