Defense must be priority for struggling Charlotte Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets are struggling defensively right now, and if they want to get out of this funk, they’ll need to clean things up on that end of the floor.

It’s been an interesting 2018-19 campaign for the Charlotte Hornets so far. While the team is in the midst of a tough stretch right now, they have shown some signs of promise. However, they’re going to need to showcase some more consistency moving forward.

Consistency defensively is going to be important. Over the past eight games, the Charlotte Hornets have allowed a total of 934 points, which rounds out to an average of 116.8 points per game.

During that eight game stretch, the Hornets rank 26th in the league in defensive rating, which is way lower than their season ranking, where they are slotted in the 17th spot. The Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, LA Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers are the only teams playing worse defense over the past eight games.

So, it’s safe to say, the Charlotte Hornets are simply not getting it done defensively right now. The positive thing, though, is that the team has plenty of good defensive players, and have shown that they are more than capable of being a well-rounded defensive team.

You can always count on Michael Kidd-Gilchrist for defensive production. Jeremy Lamb has shown ability on that end, as well as rookie Miles Bridges.

Defense isn’t the only problem for this team, of course, but it’s a big one. In order to put a stop to this two-game losing streak, they’ll need to be more disciplined defensively. That is a must. Giving up 126 and 128 points over the last two games is just ugly.

Even though in today’s NBA most people like to talk about scoring and all things offense, defense is still just as important. If you play good defense, it will lead to good offense. The best teams in the league play both ends of the floor, and if the Hornets want to be in that category, they must be better defensively.

Offensively, they’ve looked pretty good throughout the year. Head Coach James Borrego has implemented a system that has a strong focus on ball movement and player movement. It’s a fun style to watch, and it has potential to get even stronger if they can get defensive stops and run in transition.

The Charlotte Hornets will look to get back on track when they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers tomorrow night at Spectrum Center. It’s a good opportunity for them to end this losing streak and get back in the win column. Tip-off is at 7:00 PM ET.