Can the Hornets sustain their hot stretch?

Yahoo Sports senior NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor is joined by trainer Drew Hanlen to break down the reasons Charlotte has surged into play-in contention in the Eastern Conference. Check out the full conversation on “The Kevin O’Connor Show” and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.

Video Transcript

One of the biggest surprises in recent weeks this NBA season is the Charlotte Hornets.

They’ve won 10 out of 11 games.

They’re four and a half games back from the sixth seed Sixers right now, two up in the lottery for the 11th seed, so they’re kind of in the middle right now.

But when they have Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball, and Kon Knipple on the floor, they have a 131.3 offensive rating, all-time level stuff with those three.

One of the questions on my mind is, do the Hornets keep climbing up the standings the second half of the year?

‘Cause it feels for, for real to me, Drew, with what they’re doing offensively, this dates back to December when they started thriving.

But defensively, in the recent weeks during this winning, they’ve been so much better.

It feels sustainable to me.

I mean, 10 out of 11 games is a bit much, but I, I don’t think this team is gonna stop post-break, despite some of the suspensions after the, the fight with the Pistons.

Do you believe that this has been a real stretch for Charlotte that’s gonna continue in the second half?

Do I think they’re gonna keep winning 10 out of 11 games?

No.

Do I think that they’ve improved a ton and are actually, changing their culture in a winning way?

Yes.

I really think that it starts, like, at point guard position.

LaMelo Ball, as much criticism as he gets for his, like, freestyle, kinda, like, almost nonchalant play, I think it helps because everybody loves playing with him.

You can see the ball just popping.

he’s got shades of Haliburton.

Like, Haliburton to me is, you know, I’m biased, but he’s the best passer and playmaker in the NBA.

But LaMelo, I mean, that ball moves.

Everybody’s having fun with him on the court.

Then you have, you know, Knipple, who is putting together one of the most efficient, you know, three-point shooting seasons we’ve ever seen from a rookie.

50, 40-9 he is a rookie, pretty much.

Yeah, ridiculous.

Unbelievable.

A- a- and then, like you said, Brandon Miller, I mean, unbelievable talent.

Like, I think, he’s got a ton of untapped potential that he can still get to.

Underrated defensively, too, with his length.

You know, and so I think that all of that And then they brought in the Celtics system, you know?

When, when they got Coach Lee, I mean, he brought in the, “We’re gonna win the margins, we’re gonna play up-tempo, we’re gonna…” You know, and I think that you’ve seen that in recent weeks, you know?

And so do I think that they’re a contender now?

No.

But do I think that if I was them, I would say, “Hey, let’s keep trying to win?”

Yes, because I think that you have to establish a winning culture.

And so while it might hurt you in the draft, it’s gonna allow these guys to, to feel what it feels like to win.

It’s gonna allow you to go into games- … you know, having that belief that we belong.

Because I have seen some, programs, teams, organizations, that when they get to the point where winning doesn’t matter every night when they’re trying to tank and stuff like that, that it does hinder their ability to win the next season or the following season.

Gap year’s different.

You know a story when you kind of have that winning culture already established, and then it’s just everyone’s aware that this is a gap year.

Injuries happen.

It’s inevitable with every team.

When, when you’re, when you’re Charlotte, you’ve been down for so long, when you do have something good, I think you just keep that momentum and, and roll with it.

Because, you know, imagine they do get in the, in the playing games, and let’s say they win a playing game or two.

If- that’s a huge win and a boost of confidence going into the summer and going into the off-season, understanding, like, “We won when it mattered,” you know, “We won a couple games.”

Even if they get in a playoff series, and if they were to lose in the first round, that’s a great experience that they can build off of.

These young players need that, that kind of, you know, adversity.

They also need that pressure.

They need that environment.

So I’m all for winning.

I think that if you have no chance losing, okay, I- it makes sense, but I’m all for just building that winning culture, and I think that they’ve done a good job.

And I think with Charlotte, the other aspect of it here is that I’m I, I don’t know if they’ve had these discussions internally.

I’d imagine they have, because every team now that’s on the bubble has a choice.

They can start putting out crappy lineups, trying to increase their chances of losing games to get out of the playing.

They can make bad trades that position themselves, like the Bulls had eight guards on the roster- … and Gersson Yebio isle starting at center.

They can do those things if they want to.

Charlotte is in a position where, like you said, keeping the momentum going forward, but also this puts them in a position in the off-season where maybe they’re not gonna have draft odds.

Maybe they’ll be a first round out, and they won’t have any odds at all.

They won’t have a chance at Cam Boozer, AJ, or Darren Peterson, but they could have a chance to be the team that is just missing a star.

Yeah.

That they could be the team that’s making an offer saying, “You know what?

We’re gonna make an offer for Giannis.

We wanna look appealing to him.

We wanna look appealing to the surprise star that becomes available.

We wanna be an appealing destination for a player that’s looking for a new situation and free agency, a sign-and-trade.”

You don’t know.

And so I think for Charlotte, that’s the alternative here, rather than being a team that’s gonna tank and ruin the good vibes.

I think it’s the right choice with them, doing this, rather than I think it’s the right choice for Chicago to go the other way.

Can the Hornets sustain their hot stretch?

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