Tempering expectations is always a necessary – albeit, difficult – task when covering and cheering for NBA teams. The Charlotte Hornets are an example of a team whose expectations change nightly, consistently fluctuating with the team’s level of play. The James Borrego-led team is impossible to figure out. Hopefully, Hornets fans have made sure to catch themselves before becoming too enraptured by long winning streaks, or too dejected about lengthy losing streaks. If not, I am concerned for their current mental state.
At the end of the day, the Hornets are an inexperienced team with a twenty-year-old All-Star, a twenty-four-year-old wing who is averaging 20 points per game, a competent head coach, and a handful of more promising youngsters. They have also, understandably, struggled with consistency this season.
At times they have looked like a group who can compete with the NBA’s elite, playing hungry, motivated, high-level basketball. At other times they’ve looked unorganized and uninterested, especially on the defensive end. Again, this is not uncommon with a talented, young team, but Charlotte’s constant up-and-down play makes their ceiling hard to evaluate.
We’ve rounded the last turn and are barrelling down the homestretch of the regular season, with play-in games, the playoffs, and the Draft Lottery all starting to come into focus. Now is a good time to examine the season as a whole and try to pin down exactly what heights the Hornets should aim for this year. Thus, I pose the question: What result should the Hornets (and their fans) be satisfied with this season?
Losing a Play-In Game
Is This A Successful Outcome?
No. Finishing tenth in the Eastern Conference would rightfully leave a sour taste in the mouth of many Hornets fans. Rebuilds are slow processes, and progress does not come easily, but another loss in the lower-seeded play-in game wouldn’t feel like any progress at all (because it wouldn’t be). The Hornets have their franchise cornerstone and highly serviceable pieces around him; a playoff berth in his second season is a reasonable step forward.
The Charlotte Basketball Franchise has been to three playoffs since Spiderman was released – the Tobey Maguire version! Fans should not feel bad asking for their team to finish in the top half of the Eastern Conference in year three of a rebuild.
Making The Playoffs, Then Easily Being Defeated In First Round
Is This A Successful Outcome?
Getting man-handled by any of the East’s top teams would be frustrating for a few weeks, but, yes, I will call this hypothetical a success nonetheless. Getting playoff experience for LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, and the rest of the Hornets who have yet to play postseason basketball is imperative.
Last season, the Memphis Grizzlies made the playoffs only to be discarded by the Utah Jazz in the first round. But now, a year later, Memphis is ready to make a deep run in the West, and those five playoff games last year – in which Utah took care of the young Grizz quickly – are still five important games of experience that Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson, Dillon Brooks, and the rest of Memphis’ returning players have under their belt. They won’t be paralyzed by the moment when the playoffs kick off in mid-April. They’ve now felt playoff atmospheres, and played playoff basketball, regardless of how the series ended. That same experience is exactly what Charlotte needs this season, regardless if their “playoff run” is more of a brisk walk.
Losing In First Round Of Playoffs, But Staying Competitive
Is This A Successful Outcome?
Absolutely. A playoff series in which the Hornets stay competitive and maybe steal a game or two is a satisfactory way to close the season. Assuming the Hornets remain in the play-in tournament, this scenario means they won a play-in game (possibly two) and then held their own with a real contender, whether that ends up being Miami, Boston, Milwaukee, or Philadelphia. Not getting bullied by an established and experienced team in the playoffs would provide a high level of confidence heading into next season.
Winning A Playoff Series
Is This A Successful Outcome?
Obviously. If the Hornets win a playoff series, then things clicked at the exact right time. This would be, as they say, playing with house money. Expecting a playoff series win may be setting yourself up for disappointment, but hey, I’m not here to tell you how to root for your favorite team!
“Success” is subjective. Every team has their own description of what a successful season looks like for them. For the 2021-22 Hornets, success should simply mean continuing on a positive path forward, which, more specifically, means a playoff berth.
Ball has improved tremendously in his second season and is steadily climbing the ladder towards superstardom. Bridges has made a leap as a creator and finisher and has emerged as a legit number-two option next to Ball moving forward. The Hornets have a lot of positives, and however the season ends is not an end-all be-all prediction of how the Hornets will look in another three years. A playoff berth in 2021-22, however, would go far to instill real confidence in the team’s direction moving forward.
A successful outcome is a playoff berth.