Charlotte Hornets: NBA power rankings roundup, week 5 edition

With fourteen games down, various media outlets have continued to rank the Charlotte Hornets at different spots.

The Charlotte Hornets begin this new week with a record of 6-8, and they are tied for the 9th spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Charlotte has lost their last three games, with two of them coming at the hands of the Toronto Raptors.

The Hornets have received a lot of production from Gordon Hayward over the past week. Since last Monday, Hayward has averaged 25.0 points and four rebounds per game. Hayward also quickly got over a left hip strain that he suffered in the win over the Knicks.

The Hornets have also begun to play Malik Monk in the past week. After only receiving ten minutes of court time on January 4th, Monk saw 28 minutes of court time last week; the most minutes came in the 118-108 loss to the Raptors, where he scored ten points.

Rookie LaMelo Ball has continued to impress fans and the Hornets as of late. Ball averaged 9.3 points, 6.8 assists, and 8.0 rebounds per game over the past week. Ball currently is averaging 11.8 points, 6.1 assists, and 6.8 rebounds per game on the season.

Bleacher Report: 17 (Last Week: 19)

"Maybe for the first time since they became a franchise, the Charlotte Hornets are a League Pass team. LaMelo Ball has been putting on a show with his passing ability."

ESPN: 22 (Last week: 21)

"After a win over the Knicks on Monday, the Hornets lost three straight to close the week, including a pair to a Raptors team that has struggled to start the season. It also was a shaky week for rookie LaMelo Ball, who went 15-for-46 during the four-game stretch. — Friedell"

CBS: 18 (Last week: 18)

"LaMelo Ball keeps filling the stat sheet, but he had a rough week shooting the ball at 33 percent field goals and 29 percent from behind the arc."

NBA.com: 19 (Last week: 15)

"The Hornets’ offense has picked up. After scoring 103.9 points per 100 possessions (27th in the league) through their first eight games, they’ve scored 112.6 per 100 over their last six."

Due to the Hornets’ past three losses, the team only moved a small amount in the overall power rankings. Bleacher Report was the only media outlet to move the Hornets up in the rankings.

The Hornets were originally to begin this week by going against the Washington Wizards at home on January 20; however, the game was postponed due to NBA health and safety protocols. With this postponement, the Hornets will receive even more rest, as their next game will be on Friday against the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls are a team that is sitting in the lower half of the Eastern Conference standings. This will be a game that will test Charlotte and could help them get away from their losing streak.

The Hornets will conclude this week against the Orlando Magic on Sunday, January 24 on the road. Charlotte will begin week six the next day against the Magic again.