It has been a strange start to the season for the Charlotte Hornets. Despite opening the season optimistically at 2-1, the Hornets have slumped back down to 4-10 and currently sit in 12th in the Eastern Conference.
This article will give the team a full report card, evaluate the team’s performance so far this season, attempt to identify what has gone wrong, and show how the Hornets can bounce back.
Offense: C+
It’s hard to know what the Hornets’ true offensive potential really is. LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller have only played together twice this year (and only 41 times since Miller was drafted two full seasons ago) due to injuries. The injuries to Ball and Miller have resulted in Kon Knueppel taking a huge step forward, and he is filling in fantastically – more on him later.
Charlotte sits in the middle of the pack in most offensive stats. 18th in points per game, 17th in assists per game, and 17th in field goal percentage. They have not been a prolific scoring team, but are doing just fine considering that two of their expected top scorers have missed a combined 14 games.
One statistic that stands out is the fact that the Hornets have been heavily reliant on the three-pointer. With 39.9 attempts per game, they attempt the ninth most three-pointers per game in the NBA. And they have been quite successful in making them! They’re knocking down 14.5 3PM/Game, which is good for seventh in the league.
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Defense C-
The Charlotte Hornets have a bad defense. It’s a story as old as time. Once again, the Hornets find themselves in the bottom half of almost all of the NBA’s defensive ratings, except for one statistic: rebounding.
Surprisingly, the Hornets are first in the league in opponent total rebounds per game. They only allow opponents to haul in 46.1 rebounds per game, while the Hornets average 56.1 a game. That’s a plus 10 margin on the boards that can certainly change the direction of any game.
However, rebounding is not the only part of defense. The Hornets still do not have a “lockdown” perimeter defender on the squad. Ryan Kalkbrenner’s rim-protection has been a pleasant surprise, but it is going to take more than that to get the Hornets’ defense to even a respectable rate.
Coaching: B
Second-year head coach Charles Lee has handled his time in Charlotte about as well as you can ask for. Even through his team’s never-ending injuries, Lee has continued to coach to the best of his ability.
Lee is laying the framework for this team to have enormous potential in the future. The stats reflect it, too. Huge increases in rebounding numbers, field goal percentages, and getting to the charity stripe.
Have there been occasional head-scratching rotations? Yes. Is the defense still suspect, even under a “defensive-minded” head coach? Yes. Yet, most importantly, Lee seems to have the support of the locker room and the front office. If he cleans up a few things and has a few results fall his way, Charles Lee will be a fan-favorite in no time.
The Rookies: A
The 2025 Hornets’ rookie class is on pace to be the best rookie class that the Hornets have ever drafted. Knueppel and Kalkbrenner have both outperformed expectations and have shown poise on the court beyond their years.
Sion James and Liam McNeeley are also contributing to the team off the bench. James provides a defensive spark that the team is often missing, and he is finding his offensive rhythm as the season progresses. McNeeley is seeing his minutes increase and remains always dangerous as a spot-up shooter.
Without these rookies, the Hornets would be in a dark, dark place. Buzz City has to tip its hat to general manager Jeff Peterson and the Hornets’ scouting department for an absolute slam-dunk of a draft class.
New Signings: C+
No huge splashes were made by the Hornets in the trade market over the summer, but new arrivals Collin Sexton, Mason Plumlee, and Pat Connaughton are all contributing in their own way.
Sexton is proving to be a valuable part of this Hornets team, being thrown into a starting role as soon as Brandon Miller went down. He is averaging 15.5 PPG and 4.8 APG. Sexton also brings a veteran presence to a young, inexperienced Charlotte squad. Believe it or not, Sexton has never made the NBA playoffs, so he should be motivated to push this Hornets squad to their first playoff appearance since 2016.
Plumlee and Connaughton have played very sparingly so far, but the plan was never for them to get meaningful minutes. Both are exceptional team members, supporting and leading the team from the bench.
Team Grade: C+
On paper, the Hornets do not appear much better than in previous years, but if you take a deeper look at the stats, there is certainly growth. All this Hornets squad needs to do is get healthy and go on a 10-15 game run with the same starters and game plan. Once that happens, this team can see a more faithful assessment.
For now, the Hornets must weather the storm in the balanced Eastern Conference and urgently find ways to get their star players back on the court. The team faces a defining moment — will they seize the opportunity and rally against adversity, or will they settle for another disappointing season?
Hornets, the ball is in your court.
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