The Charlotte Hornets are sitting at 2-1, but the first week has hardly painted a clean picture.
Yes, the record says they’re above .500 after matchups with the Brooklyn Nets, Atlanta Hawks, and Miami Heat. If that had been the preseason forecast, it would have sounded like a dream start. But the numbers underneath the wins tell a much messier story.
Charlotte owns the fourth-worst point differential in the Eastern Conference and the sixth-worst mark in the entire NBA. That gap is jarring, even in a small sample.
Part of it comes from the massive loss to the Hawks, a blowout that dragged the figures down fast. But the other side of the equation matters too: the Hornets’ two wins came by slim margins, so the record is hiding how narrow those victories really were.
The Nets, for all the attention any win can generate, are winless and sitting with a worse point differential of their own. Beating them by a few points doesn’t move the needle much. The Miami win may age better as the season goes on, but right now the Hornets’ best-looking result is still being viewed through the lens of a team that has started slowly.
The bigger issue is what Charlotte has looked like on the floor. Brandon Miller’s first three games have been rough, and his stat line through that stretch reflects it:
Those numbers are ugly, and they match the team-wide issues around him. Charlotte currently has the worst offensive rating in the NBA, ranks 18th in defensive rating, and sits fifth-worst in true shooting.
There is, of course, the injury factor. The Hornets have been without Coby White, Kon Knueppel, and Grant Williams.
Those are meaningful absences. But the source of optimism is limited because those players are seemingly out indefinitely, which leaves this version of the roster as the one that has to be judged.
And this version, record aside, doesn’t look very good.
In Other News...
Dennis Schroder Is Giving Hornets Fans A Reason To Believe
Dennis Schroder wasted little time giving Charlotte something to feel good about, scoring 25 points in the Hornets 115-110 win over the Miami Heat. It was the kind of performance that fits the early tone of this new season for a team still trying to establish an identity, and it came from a veteran guard who arrived from Cleveland this offseason with a reputation for fitting into a lot of different places.
Schroders career has taken him through 12 NBA teams, and Charlotte is already seeing why his presence can matter in a tight game. The Hornets are 2-1 after the win, and with Washington up next, there is at least a growing sense that this group can compete when the pace picks up and the shots start falling. [Read more 🡒]
Brandon Miller Now Carries A Big Test For This Shorthanded Hornets Team
Charlottes current homestand has already shown how much the offense can swing from one night to the next, and Brandon Miller has been right at the center of it. After a quiet scoring night in a loss to Atlanta, he answered with 34 points in a win over Miami, a reminder of how much the Hornets lean on his shot-making when the tempo picks up and the margin for error shrinks.
The next stop brings another shorthanded opponent in Washington, but Charlottes own injury situation is what makes this feel like a real test. With several regulars unavailable, the Hornets will need Miller to carry more of the load again, not just as a scorer but as the player most capable of stabilizing the group when the rotation is thinned out and the game turns into a grind. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Face An Early Test Their 2-1 Start Hasn't Answered
Charlottes 2-1 start has brought a little early momentum, but the next stretch offers a cleaner read on where this team really stands. The Hornets have already shown some resilience after taking a heavy loss, and theyve also proven they can rebound quickly after a rough night, which is part of what makes the opening week feel encouraging even if the schedule has been unforgiving.
Washington arrives with the kind of top-end talent that can tilt a game, and that is what gives this matchup its edge from the Wizards side. For Charlotte, the concern is less about the record and more about whether it can match that level of firepower for four quarters, especially after a game that asked plenty of its key scorers and exposed how thin the margin can be against a more star-driven opponent. [Read more 🡒]