Hornets Are Playing With House Money This Season

These 2025-2026 Charlotte Hornets have me thinking about another Cinderella that was in the Eastern Conference.

I’ve had my mind on those Pacers and their fans from last year.

This season has to be hard to stomach after the magic they pulled off in the 2024-2025 playoffs, en route to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance.

For fans, players, and everyone involved. Cinderella runs don’t happen very often in this league. Sure, they have the talent and coaching via Rick Carlisle to make it back. On paper, at least.

Yet, nothing will compare for the fans, players, or coaches except a Finals win now. Even with newly acquired C Ivica Zubac on board next season, with a full-go Tyrese Haliburton. That’s the bar they set with their run, which there’s nothing wrong with. 

These guys are the one percent of the one percent competitively. It's what they work for all year long. They'll relish the chance to have expectations... but they can be difficult when the rubber meets the road.

Why does this pertain to the Hornet, you ask? Well, I’m looking at it from a fan’s view. Doug Branson of Locked on Hornets has mentioned on multiple occasions that Charlotte is playing with house money this year, which is true in every sense of the metaphor. 

Same as Indiana last year. They took their house money all the way to the Finals, and set the bar just below lifting the Larry O’Bryant Trophy. 

If the Hornets did the same thing this season, even if it meant getting to the Eastern Conference Finals as their height, nothing would come of next season but expectations. 

Rod Morrow joined Locked on Hornets and said the expectation is coming next year, no matter what, and he may just be right. 

While crazy, I’m almost advocating for Charlotte to take the Detroit path rather than Indiana’s; that’s the only way they can play with house money again next season like Detroit is partially doing again this year.

Take a 1 or 2 seed to six, god forbid seven, and lose.

Nothing fuels a fire for sports teams as tight knit and already motivated like the Hornets are currently, like a close playoffs loss. 

If they can manage to get to that game six or seven, you bet your bee-hind I’ll want them to win. A loss would leave me with the same sadness it would leave most of you all reading this.

But there’s a chance a first round loss can leave Charlotte on the NBA casino’s payroll and come back next year with house money again. Maybe it’s for the better that it’s this way, too.

Expectations tend to kill the fun in sports.

Look at the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. A historic last season this past year played in Highmark Stadium for the last time. 

The only thing anyone will remember looking back on that season to end Highmark is a loss, the emotions, and coaches firing that all followed.

Just because of some silly expectations.

For now: let’s just embrace the fun that is this no-stress, everything’s-a-surprise Hornets season. They don’t come for NBA fanbases very often.

Much less this fanbase.