Balanced again, the Hornets don’t want to stop there

Against Dallas, Hornets quietly imposed 110-97 at the end of the game in which the team shone, with eight players who scored at least ten points. Building on this success, Charlotte has a fifth straight win and returns to a balanced record of 31 wins and 31 losses.

“We are reaping the fruits of our labor”, greets the team coachCharles Lee. “We fought well in different areas today. I’m very proud of what we accomplished today. All the guys brought it.”

To see a Hornets team with a positive result in March, we have to go back to the 2021/22 season. The campaign that Charlotte ended with 43 wins with 39 losses and 10th place in the East.

This tour de force of teammates Brandon Miller is even more impressive because since Jan. 21, the day of the loss to Cleveland, Charlotte has gone 16-28. Since then, the Hornets have completely reversed the trend, first with a nine-game winning streak then another currently in the process of five successes in a row. In the last 18 games, Charles Lee’s men are the best team in the league with the best offense (120.8 points scored per 100 possessions) and the 7th defense (108.5 points conceded per 100 possessions). Enough to post the best “net rating” (the difference between points scored and conceded) during the period, at +12.3 points per 100 possessions.

“There’s still a lot of work to do”

Especially the starting five (LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate) that impresses with an unreal “net rating” of +30.7 when these five play together!

When the Hornets start this group, they have won 19 of 21 games this season, so their record is 12-29 with the other big five…

“We still have a lot of work to do” remembers Brandon Miller anyway. « It shows how hard we work, but we stay focused on the next games instead of getting hung up on the numbers. If we keep winning we will be well above 50%. »

If the Hornets get back to a positive record and finish in the top 10 in the East, they could aim even higher. They are just two games behind the Heat (33 wins – 29 losses) and the Magic (32 wins – 28 losses) who are ranked eighth and seventh in the East.

Miami and Charlotte will cross spears this Friday, but before that, the Hornets have a complicated trip to Boston.

“We want to improve every day”, explains Grant Williams. “Thanks to this approach we found ourselves in this position today. We have to continue like this because it will be more and more complicated. It is always more difficult when you have a target on your back.”