Oct 28, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) walks with forward Liam McNeeley (33) after receiving a technical foul for an obscene gesture during the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Analyst believes Hornets have the 'raw talent' to remain in contention

Originally posted on Charlotte Hornets on SI
By Zach Roberts | Last updated Oct 31, 2025 2:48 PM ET

After three games, I was almost ready to say the Charlotte Hornets might genuinely be a playoff team. Two big wins over the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards showcased the elite offense they have, and the loss to the Philadelphia 76ers suggested they could be competitive and steal games against "better" teams.

After two more, I am rescinding that statement. They've looked bad, particularly on defense, in back-to-back losses to the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic. Those are fringe playoff teams if not certain contenders in the East, so all is not necessarily lost.

The reality is somewhere in the middle, which is to be expected. They improved from last year, but it takes time to get to the playoffs. That's why one insider's take is both fair and accurate. They're not ready, but the talent is there to remain relevant.

Analyst believes Charlotte Hornets are too talented to fall out of play-in mix

After so many bad years, being a legitimate top-10 seed in the Eastern Conference would be a big win. After the last two games, it's hard to predict that and feel good about it, but one NBA analyst believes it's the case.

What's holding them back is a bad defense, but it shouldn't tarnish the whole season. "The Charlotte Hornets are lighting up the nets to the tune of 119.0 points per 100 possessions (good for seventh in the league)," B/R analyst Andy Bailey said. The Hornets rose from 26th to 23rd in his Power Rankings.

"Several individual players are contributing. LaMelo Ball is putting up 24.4 points and 10.2 assists. Collin Sexton is averaging 18.6 points in just 26.5 minutes. And rookie Kon Knueppel is shooting 50.0 percent from deep," he continued. It's been a pretty balanced attack so far.

But nothing has helped the defense. Ryan Kalkbrenner, a four-time DPOY in his college conference, has been great so far, especially on offense, surprisingly. But he can't make up for the awful perimeter defense. "Despite that blistering [offensive] rating, Charlotte is still rocking a negative net rating," Bailey pointed out.

"There's probably enough raw talent here for the Hornets to stay in the play-in mix, but they'll have to do a better job of containing on the perimeter to get much further than that," the analyst concluded. The Hornets, in the form of Ball, Knueppel, Kalkbrenner, Sexton, and others, have talent, and that should help them stick around for a while, even if it doesn't get them to the promised land just yet.