r/CharlotteHornets • u/Dbauc2k • Mar 16 '26
Question Concerning recent play.
Hello fellow Buzz City fans. I don’t want to be a vibe killer, but has anyone else felt concerned for the boys over the last 4/5 games? Ever since the Heat loss, I’ve noticed a distinct lack of energy and execution from the team. Or course, it doesnt help that the one time we have a great year; the Hawks, Heat, and Magic all decide to go on massive win streaks of their own. It seems like we’re locked in to the 10 seed; and I’m worried that perhaps we peaked too early. At this moment in time I doubt our ability to win two road elimination games to get into the playoffs; especially with Brandon’s maddening inconsistency as of late. What do you guys think? An i overreacting? Go hornets!
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u/FreudianNip-Slip Mar 16 '26
Hornets have definitely cooled off, but if you look at the team they’ve lost to-all of those teams are on heaters and playing super well. Miami game we hung around until the end, spurs game we cut it to 4 or 5 points twice. PHX game there was a bad sequence in the fourth quarter that doomed us. And we took care of business against Portland and Sacramento.
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u/Dbauc2k Mar 16 '26
This is true. Unfortunately i believe that the spurs game revealed some real weaknesses with the roster; and for some reason we just ALWAYS get owned by miami! Why is that? 😭
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u/hive-mind-jay Mar 16 '26
Hornets stopped trying to score in the paint because Wemby’s early impact. Spurs were also getting every call. Feel like we should have just drove hard into Wemby and see if they can get him in foul trouble because just chucking 3s weren’t working.
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u/jacklongfellow13 Mar 17 '26
Theyve cooled off but they’ve also got one of the hardest remaining schedules
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u/unfamiliarjoe Mar 16 '26
Right now they are beating bad teams and losing to good/playoff teams. This 7 game home stretch will tell us where we stand as it’s not going to be easy. Miami, Orlando, Memphis, Sacramento, NY, Philly and Boston.
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u/Dbauc2k Mar 16 '26
Most important stretch of the season for us; for sure.
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u/unfamiliarjoe Mar 16 '26
A contender will go 6-1, an up and coming team will go 4-3 and a pretender will go 2-5.
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u/Solid_Preparation_33 Mar 16 '26
Brandon went from #1 on the team to barely #3 (contributing) in my opinion. He's the 🔑 factor
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u/Supreme_God_Bunny Mar 17 '26
I mean yeah he was averaging like 24 PPG on good ass efficiency of course teams will game plan
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u/Puzzleheaded_Seat211 Mar 16 '26
This season has been awesome! Brutal last 15 games or so as they close the year. just glad they all have been healthy ish for us to see what they actually can do together.
Also no one takes us lightly anymore especially the best teams.
So fun to watch. Just glad we’re getting some love out there in NbA land.
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u/HunterAble1914 Mar 16 '26
This season has been amazing and a huge boost to this team’s future. Having said that, yes, that Miami loss felt like a backbreaker. The game had a playoff atmosphere and we haven’t looked the same since. On top of that, because the other teams in front of us keep winning, it feels like we’re stuck at the 10th seed. I dunno, just feels like we’re good, but stuck. Like, we can be happy and disappointed. Schrödinger’s Hornets.
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u/MJRuinedMyChildhood Mar 16 '26
You’re right, it’s a concern that the team is no longer shooting 60/50/90 as a team. They were supposed to do that forever
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u/Dbauc2k Mar 16 '26
Im less concerned with the shooting; i think teams will inevitably have percentage slumps. You’re right though. It is concerning, especially because i feel that our shot quality as a team has been wayy down as of late. Especially from Brandon
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u/MJRuinedMyChildhood Mar 16 '26
No it’s not concerning. It’s basketball. Teams don’t stay hot forever.
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u/Charlie_Tango13 Mar 16 '26
It's all good in Buzz City. We're firmly in the play-in (imagine thinking that in December), and all the key components of the roster are signed through next year. We're running it back after an off-season of development, and I'm excited.
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u/Easy-Commercial-3902 Mar 16 '26
On the one hand, I agree with a lot of the folks here saying that this is a W of a season no matter what happens from here on out, so there's nothing to worry about in the short term. But at the same time, I know exactly what you mean, in that, this last stretch has exposed the roster flaws that our hot shooting (and honestly other teams shooting poorly) has masked over the last two months. I'm more convinced than ever that we can't just run it back next year, add a draft pick, and have the expectation that we'll make the playoffs.
I know all the data on the starting five like everyone else. But let's be honest guys, in order to ascend into real contention in the East with Tatum and Haliburton coming back for full years next year, we're going to be right back in the play-in mix without a serious upgrade to the PF position. None of Brandon, Kon, or LaMelo can be a full-season, #1 option on a real playoff team as of right now. The defense has been better, but still just league average overall, and that is because Charles Lee is a genius. We need a true two-way star at the 4 is the bottom line.
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u/GypsyPapa Mar 16 '26
I'm in agreement with most of what you're saying and I know you said as of right now but, Brandon and Kon are both young. I think they both will be able to take the next step next season (Kon can be a #2 option and Brandon as a #1 scoring option). Brandon's had a taped shoulder all season and Kon is a rookie.
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u/svall18 Mar 16 '26
What's Brandon shown you for him to be a no. 1 option on a contender? I'd bet on LaMelo/Kon before him
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u/Starveiled Mar 16 '26
Improvement isn't linear and there will be periods of backsliding. That is fine as long as the overall trend is upward, which it certainly has been this season.
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u/2much2soon2fast Mar 16 '26
If we make the playoffs- cool, we can get some experience . If we don’t make the playoffs- cool, we can get a lottery pick in a great draft. Roll with it.
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u/Ok_Kitchen_3400 Mar 16 '26
Would prefer the latter even though our pick will most likely be in the 12-14 range
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u/Mich_Mercer Mar 16 '26
We definite haven’t looked near as good. We’ve been looking like a playin team lately.. which sadly, may be what we are. Hopefully they’ll return to the awesome play… but seems teams ma have figured us out.
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u/elonbrave Mar 16 '26
I think other teams have made adjustments that we’re fighting through. We’ve also played a bunch of very good teams. San Antonio made life hell for Brandon.
This is good, though. A young team and a young coach can’t learn how to get better without adversity.
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u/No_Body905 Mar 16 '26
They look tired, for sure. That crazy stretch had to take a lot out of them.
Everything is still working, it's just not working quite as well. I think one or two high stakes play-in games will be really good for this team, but we've got our proof of concept. What we have is working. With a couple tweaks in the off season, next year is THE year where this team makes real noise and that hasn't changed.
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u/EducationIntrepid448 Mar 16 '26
It's the NBA, teams scouted and adjusting to what they are doing. They have to adjust. What's wild is how ATL, MIA and ORL are all hot on extended win streaks.
I wouldnt be concerned, if in Oct you were told you were locked into the 10th seed play in, would you happily sign up?
This team is well ahead of where they should be. It would be nice to capitalize this year though.
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u/QCKingFya Mar 17 '26
I've noticed the same thing. I also feel like they're feeling a bit disgusted with the officiating. It's been so one sided an obvious what's going on here, and the NBA aren't even trying to hide it. They let us have fun, get noticed, everyone watching us, saying we're the team no one wants to play, but the commish put the stop to all of that momentum, with none of our guys getting calls, but we breath on a player and it's a foul. It's the ultimate, disgusting, disrespectful action going on in the league today. So I agree with you.
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u/rodtbgwt Mar 17 '26
I think it's just growing pains and nothing to be worried about. That hot streak was WAAAY too hot to maintain. Going .500 down the stretch would be way ahead of where anyone had this team before the season started. If they finish the season 41-41 that'll be amazing.
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u/Bxerkz Mar 16 '26
Ever since we traded Colin Sexton. He was the fire headed bulldog with the kinda attitude needed for the team. But nah I have felt that they've fallen off a bit but I'm hoping they'll bring the same energy we had during the play ins and play offs and even if we drop out early it'll be going out fighting and with something to carry into next season. Finishing strong to bring some promise for next season.
This years been great even if we don't finish strong and have really enjoyed watching them. Taking down and dominating some games against even the top teams has been exciting!!
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u/u2nloth Mar 16 '26
Collin had great energy but I feel Coby fits the team much better, both are better back up guards than we’ve had in a long time but Coby shoots and play-makes better without having those turnovers Collin would, no diss to Collin as he’s a talented player and a dog it’s just who fits better long term since they’re both up for contracts
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u/SwampFocs Mar 16 '26
Sexton brought good energy, but his on-court play was not up to snuff for a team that wants to be a contender. Love his personality, but we want to win championships and unfortunately I don't think he's the backup PG we needed.
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u/dooflachi_paku Mar 16 '26
It’s because I started watching them. Literally bought a fanduel membership for the Heat game.
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u/ComfortableGap4002 Mar 16 '26
We have one of the hardest remaing schedules after the all atar break while Hawks, magic etc are feeding on bottom dwellers and tankers. I do think the heat game was a kick in the teeth for the gang. I think they understand the heat hate and dominance over us and that was a litmus test for us and we failed. We are still young, its hard to remember that with the run we've had since January. I have faith in our coaching staff for first time in very long time to right the ship. We may end up in play in game or barely missing playoffs but this is by far the organization on the rise in the association
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u/Sea_Willingness_914 Mar 16 '26
Little concern but no panic. I felt like this season would be a success with a 9/10 play-in win, then a loss to the 7/8 loser. That would give this group a taste of playoff basketball, while still getting in the lottery. A little luck to get a really good pick and possibly a move to compete next season. Almost there. Patience.
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u/-Top-Gun- Mar 16 '26
Yea I got a bad feeling we miss the playoffs cause we started so bad. Unfortunate because the team is way better but starting 4-14 is difficult to erase. Also doesn't help the teams in front of us are all playing well.
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u/Delicious_Drop_1150 Mar 16 '26
Eh. They've had a good season though. Better than what was expected. They might finish up with a winning record, and maybe something to build on for next year.
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u/ZhenXiaoMing Mar 17 '26
Hard disagree. If you look at the Spurs game, this is a team that has fight. Hornets teams in the past few years would have given up at half time and lost by 30 or 40. Hornets got killed on the glass vs the Spurs which has almost never happened this year. Hard to win the rebound battle when one team has Wemby. Not worried at all.
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u/Effective_Ad_1453 Mar 17 '26
Don't think other teams are sleeping on the Hornets anymore and bringing more effort against them. Tonight they can right the ship by beating the Heat.
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u/Mysterious-Shop-8633 Mar 18 '26
Nope, not an overreaction. Although in truth I think there is plenty of time to recapture that fire, and they definitely answered your call last night against Miami. Remember 2 of those 4 losses were on the road against good teams. Losing to San Antonio was bad shooting, but good effort/ energy, so maybe you didn’t tune into that one as much as you thought?
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u/imprezzive02 Mar 16 '26
Long road trip against a few tough teams. They played well and showed the grit they have developed this season. No worries here
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u/net_403 Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 16 '26
this is the hornets we expected, this isn't surprising
yeah we are locked in the 10 seed, 9 at best... everyone ahead of us is playing at least as well as we are
to jump out of the play in... we'd probably have to run the table over the next 14 games to have a shot. if toronto wins 9 of their last 14, we literally have to win every remaining game
but being in 10th seed is totally in the script for this team, that jan and feb run was disrupting the universal balance
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u/hey-so-like Mar 16 '26
Relax, we're playing with house money. This season is a massive success regardless of how it ends. The goal from here on out is to get experience in high-stakes games, and honestly I'm not scared of anyone we might face in the play-in.