The Charlotte Hornets’ slow start has now shown up in the weekly NBA Power Rankings, and the drop was steep. After sitting 17th a week ago, Charlotte slid to 22nd in The Athletic’s latest list, a move that fits the way this season has looked so far.
The Hornets have three wins, but the path to them has been messy. Their new-look roster, reshaped heavily from last season’s group, has not found much rhythm. Even before the loss to the Detroit Pistons, the numbers were already pointing in the wrong direction.
Law Murray wrote, “The Hornets beat the Wizards, but that was the lone win of the week. Charlotte is still waiting on reinforcements from Kon Knueppel (hamstring) and Coby White (calf), and Brandon Miller’s efficiency is in the tank without the help.”
White did return Monday night against Detroit, but he didn’t give Charlotte much of a lift. The offense looked just as rough as it has all season, and the Hornets came away with another bad night on that end.
Murray added, “Naz Reid hasn’t been very good either (39.8 percent field goals, 1.9 assists, 3.0 turnovers), and head coach Charles Lee had to sit him down for the second half at Detroit,” Murray concluded.
That’s the bigger problem for Charlotte right now: even with White back in the mix, the offense is still nowhere near functional. The Hornets own the worst offensive rating in the NBA, and they sit 3.5 points behind the Utah Jazz, who are next on the list.
The defense has held up better, but only to a point. Charlotte ranks 14th in defensive rating, which is solid enough on its own, yet nowhere close to enough to cover for the league’s worst offense.
Knueppel’s return won’t fix everything, and White, once he’s fully healthy and playing more minutes, won’t either. Neither player is a top-tier creator, so the assist issues are likely to stick around.
That’s why this feels like the nightmare version of the LaMelo Ball trade. Charlotte gave up an elite playmaker and one of the NBA’s best offensive engines, and that loss has a real cost. The Hornets believed they had enough depth and shooting to absorb it, but the numbers say otherwise.
In Other News...
Hornets Offense Desperately Needs Kon Knueppel Back This Week
Charlottes offense has spent the opening stretch of the season searching for a spark, and the Hornets are still waiting for Kon Knueppel to provide the one they were counting on. After a rookie year that saw him set multiple NBA records, including the most 3-pointers made in a season and a string of 20-point games on efficient shooting, Knueppel looked like the kind of perimeter threat who could change the shape of this lineup almost immediately.
Instead, the Hornets have had to play without him while dealing with the leagues worst offense, a glaring problem that has only sharpened the anticipation around his return. The good news for Charlotte is that the wait may not be much longer, and with a pair of games on deck, the team is hoping Knueppel can give a sputtering attack the shot-making and spacing it has been missing. [Read more 🡒]
Coby White Is Back But Charlottes Offense Still Looks Like The Real Story
Coby White is back in the Charlotte Hornets starting lineup after working his way back from a left calf strain, and his return gives the team a better chance to see what its projected first unit can actually look like. He logged 15 minutes against the Detroit Pistons as Charlotte eased him back in, a sensible approach for a player coming off an injury while the Hornets try to settle into something closer to their intended rotation.
Dennis Schrder shifted to a reserve role with White back, which is another sign the Hornets are inching toward a more complete look. Even so, the bigger question remains whether the offense can clean itself up enough to take advantage of that stability, because the teams issues with scoring and turnovers have been hard to ignore while the roster has been in flux. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Could Get A Key Offensive Piece Back At The Perfect Time
Kon Knueppels absence has lingered long enough to become part of the Hornets nightly equation, with the wing missing eight straight games because of a left hamstring strain. Charlotte has had to keep moving without one of its more promising offensive pieces, even as the calendar starts to make every healthy body matter a little more.
Head coach Charles Lee has made it clear the wait may not be much longer, though he stopped short of putting a date on Knueppels return. The Hornets also locked in his salary for next season by exercising his contract option for 2027-28, a small but meaningful sign of how much the organization values his place in the rotation once hes back on the floor. [Read more 🡒]