Where Do the Hornets Stand Heading Into 2025
The Charlotte Hornets are currently 7-24 on the season which is good for 13th in the Eastern Conference. This year has been a year of first for the Hornets as they introduced a new head coach in Charles Lee. Lee, a former two-time NBA Champion as an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021 and the Boston Celtics in 2023 was the first major hire for new owners Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall. Lee comes in to instill his culture in a franchise that desperately needs one. The Hornets have been a “middle of the pack” team in the NBA for a while now, long gone are the playoff berths that were ushered in by Kemba Walker, and now the team finds itself in Play-In contention or outside the playoff picture altogether. Lee’s first year has not gotten off to a good start due to various issues including injuries and inconsistency with team chemistry. However, the Hornets have made progress in terms of finding the right players to build around and instilling a new defensive scheme and tenacity that has Buzz City “buzzing” about what the future could hold.
Charlotte has played one of the toughest schedules in the NBA this season as they have played teams who have either made the playoffs or were in the Play-In Tournament the year before. They opened up their season with an upset win over the Houston Rockets, based on what the Rockets look like now it seems that the Hornets caught them early. Charlotte is led by LaMelo Ball who is averaging a career-best 30 points per game this season, but unfortunately, he has now gotten a case of the injury bug by missing games due to a strained calf and ankle injuries. Injuries have been a recurring problem for the Hornets this season as Miles Bridges, Mark Williams, Tre Mann, and Brandon Miller have all missed time this season. For Lee this is a problem because he has not had a consistent lineup all season and has had to rely on bench players and players from the Hornets G-League Team, the Greensboro Swarm, to come in to contribute. The fact that there is essentially no team chemistry from players who have not played a lot of games together has contributed to two stretches of losing streaks this season.
The first was an eight-game losing streak that occurred from mid-November to early December that ended with a win over the Indiana Pacers and the seven-game losing streak that they are experiencing now. The Hornets have won one out of their eleven games in December and will have one more opportunity to get back into the win column against the Bulls before they turn the calendar to 2025. Though the Hornets are not winning games they are making strides on defense. Charlotte is scoring 19.4 points off of turnovers this season while opponents are shooting 47 percent this season from the paint. Marginal improvements from last season but solid numbers in Lee’s first season as coach.
The Hornets’ upcoming schedule does not get any better for them as they are playing teams that are currently projected in the top six in both the Eastern and Western Conferences while also dealing with teams who are currently projected to make the Play-In Tournament. If the Hornets want to make up some ground in the Play-In chase they are going to have to start winning games now. However, it seems that they have dug themselves into a hole that is too big for them to overcome. The Hornets were not a team projected to make the playoffs season, but under Lee, the foundation seems to be building for a team that could realistically contend for the playoffs consistently in the years to come.
