The Hornets have a problem and it’s their defense. Charlotte has cooled off after their 3-0 start and are now sitting at 5-5. Their biggest issue, which this week was very clear, is letting teams get off to fast starts. The Hornets had a chance to go to 6-2 vs Cleveland and gave up 40 points in the first quarter. While the Cavs have been a nice surprise so far, this still shouldn’t happen against this team.
The Hornets started the game better defensively vs the Golden State Warriors, but when the offense got cold the defense couldn’t get stops – as the Warriors built a lead in the third quarter. Charlotte cut the lead to six, but ultimately ran out of gas versus Golden State, but what happened vs Sacramento might’ve been their worst performance of the season. The Hornets gave up 41 points to the Kings in the first quarter and 74 points in the first half. The second half wasn’t much better as the Hornets gave up 66 points.
This team is awful defensively and the stats back up that point. The Hornets are dead last in defensive rating, 27th in defensive rebounding percentage and 21st in opponents’ points in the paint. The blame can go all around, between the players and the coaches. Everybody has to take accountability for this poor defense. All of this is a shame, because the Hornets are 6th in offensive rating; 1st in points per game, 1st in 3 pointers made, and 3-point percentage. These numbers go to show that you can have a good offense, even a great offense, but if you can’t stop anybody you will lose games and sit at 5-5, instead of 6-4 or 7-3.
The warning signs were there opening night, but the Hornets were able to rally back. Charlotte blowing a 12-point lead in the 4th quarter to the Celtics was another warning sign. Despite Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum going off, Charlotte should’ve closed that game out. However, Monday’s loss to Cleveland and last night’s loss to Sacramento are the largest red flags so far this season.
Charlotte has playoff aspirations, but if they don’t find an identity defensively and start games quicker, they may be heading for the play in game…again. Charlotte travels to Los Angeles to play the Clippers Sunday night, then play the Lakers without LeBron James Monday night. It will be interesting to see how the Hornets respond against a team with playoff aspirations in the Clippers and a team that’s playing for a championship in the Lakers.