The Charlotte Hornets ran into a buzzsaw on Saturday night, and it came in the form of the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons. The final score - 112-86 - says a lot, but it’s the way things unraveled in the fourth quarter that really told the story. Charlotte was outscored 33-14 in the final frame, and what had been a manageable deficit quickly ballooned into a blowout.
Turnovers and second-chance points were the culprits - and they piled up fast. The Hornets coughed up the ball 24 times and surrendered 17 offensive rebounds. Against a team as physical and locked-in as Detroit, that’s a recipe for disaster.
After the game, head coach Charles Lee didn’t sugarcoat the loss. He called it a “great test” for his team - physically and mentally - and pointed to toughness as a key factor.
“You are going on the road, you are playing a team that prides themselves on being a physical and tough team,” Lee said. “And I thought we did a good job at times.”
But “at times” wasn’t enough. Lee emphasized the need for sharper offensive execution - stronger with the ball, more decisive passing - and more urgency on the defensive glass. The Pistons made Charlotte pay for every missed box-out and every lazy pass.
Lee’s message was clear: if the Hornets want to become the two-way team they aspire to be, it’s going to take more than flashes of effort.
“I would say for us, we try to build our identity on being an elite two-way team,” Lee said. “It starts with our veteran players, our leaders.
Brandon [Miller], Melo [Ball], and Miles [Bridges] have kind of set a tone of that's what we want to be. And I fully support that.”
That leadership is crucial - especially for a young team still trying to find its footing. Lee pointed out that when those key players lead by example, it becomes contagious. And in today’s NBA, where just about everyone can score, it’s the teams that lock in defensively - even when shots aren’t falling - that find ways to win.
“There are other ways to impact the game,” Lee said. “And the defensive side of the ball really gives us a great chance to be able to win games.”
At 9-19, the Hornets are sitting in 12th place in the East. The playoffs are a long shot, and unless something dramatic changes, Charlotte is staring down another postseason-less spring. The franchise hasn’t seen playoff basketball since 2016, and while the rebuild continues, the growing pains are still very real.
But even in a lopsided loss like this one, there are glimpses of the future. Rookie Kon Knueppel continues to show flashes that have the front office and fans alike excited. He’s not just a developmental piece - he looks like a player who could be part of the core moving forward.
For now, though, the Hornets are still learning how to compete at the level they want to reach. Saturday night was a reminder of just how far they still have to go - and what it’s going to take to get there.