As of December 2, 2024, the Charlotte Hornets are 6-14 and ranked 12th in the Eastern Conference. The team lost four close games throughout the week of Thanksgiving, all of which came at home. This year, fans entered the season with higher hopes than ever, a trend that has been developing for the past few years. Our outlook has been the same for a long time now: if this team can stay healthy, we may be able to finally return to the playoffs. Well, that hasn’t happened and the Hornets now sit far away from .500; the Hornets are on their way to another disappointing season.
Mark Williams, while nearing a return, has missed the entirety of the start to the 2024 NBA season. Additionally, while Nick Richards returned versus the Atlanta Hawks, he has missed nearly the entirety of the season as well. It is truly difficult to win games in this league without a single legitimate center in rotation. Miles Bridges remains out as well, alongside Grant Williams who recently tore his ACL. And, now we have confirmation that superstar, Lamelo Ball, and backup PG, Tre Mann, will be out for a minimum of two weeks (starting Thursday, December 29).
The Hornets have been missing five out of their top six scoring options, and it might be a little while before all of them could be back on the floor together. We have been waiting so long–and will be forced to wait longer–to see what this team can do when everyone is healthy and on the floor together.
And here’s the thing: while these big players have been out, our depth pieces and reserves have been stepping up. We’ve seen the best performances of the year from rookies Tidjane Salaun and KJ Simpson, and veterans like Vasilije Micic and Josh Green finally put some good performances together. They’ve kept us in every single game over the past week or two, which is a positive sign.
But, if the losing puts us in too deep of a hole, we may be starting at yet another lost season.
Images: Hornets
As long as we continue moving forward and not back
Lamelo could honestly be the best player in Hornets history if he could just stay healthy